This conference will be held in New Orleans Louisiana, October 2-4, 2008. In all, over 55 of the leading experts from North America will present the latest advances in the science, rehabilitation and treatment of traumatic brain injury. The 2008 conference will focus on four concurrent education tracks covering the following topic areas: Medical-Clinical Best Practices, Research/Science, Life Long Living & Working and Legal Issues in Brain Injury. Attendees are comprised of basic scientists, rehabilitation physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, neuropsychologists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, recreational therapists, etc.

This event will take place in Edmonton, Alberta, March 19—20, 2009 and will examine the special and integral role that rehabilitation plays in the healthcare field. Medical and allied health professionals, primary care providers, health care executives, researchers, technology experts, administrators and policy and decision makers will converge in this conference. Abstract submissions are due September 26, 2008.

To be held in Jacksonville, Florida on March 26 - 29, 2009, this event will focus on promoting research-based strategies that combine applied behavior analysis and biomedical science with person-centered values and systems change to increase quality of life and decrease problem behaviors. The Call for Papers submission database will close on September 12, 2008.

According to a new study published in Arthritis & Rheumatism in July 2008, people with rheumatoid arthritis who suffer a stroke are likely to have lower functional ability subsequently than stroke patients without arthritis. Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston designed their study to see whether the swelling and pain that accompanies rheumatoid arthritis or lupus interferes with stroke rehabilitation.

According to The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), findings from a recent study published in Spine demonstrate that active physical therapy for patients with acute low back pain is associated with better clinical outcomes, decreased use of prescription medications, MRI and epidural injections, and lower healthcare costs than passive physical therapy. For pain of a 'mechanical' origin such as low back pain, hands-on therapy to mobilize the spine and exercises designed to alleviate low back pain have been shown to be particularly effective and have long-lasting effects on patients.

Researchers at Loyola University Health System report a technique that potentially could restore functions to patients weeks or even months after a stroke. The technique involves jumpstarting the growth of nerve fibers to compensate for brain cells destroyed by the stroke. The experimental approach was called anti-nogo-A immunotherapy by the researchers in a recent review article in the journal Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation.

The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) and the Seniors Health Research Transfer Network (SHRTN) hosted a consultation process to develop a common vision of quality in long-term care (LTC) homes that reflects all aspects of the resident’s LTC experience. The consultation took place in five sessions between February 12 and April 10, 2008 in Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, London and Sudbury. The purpose of this report is to synthesize the themes from the five sessions to reveal a common vision of quality in LTC homes. While the dialogues varied in their emphases, there was significant consensus on how participants describe quality, what the priorities are and how to move forward.

Many assume that outcomes from physical therapy research in one country can be generalized to other countries. However, no well designed studies comparing outcomes among countries have been conducted. In this exploratory study, the authors compared patient demographics and treatment processes in outpatient physical therapy practice in the United States, Israel and the Netherlands. The authors observed that clinical databases can be used for describing patient demographic characteristics and for identifying similarities and differences among countries in physical therapy practice. However, terminology used to describe treatment processes and classify patients was different among databases. More standardisation is required to enable more detailed comparisons.

The aim of this article is to compare the currently available rehabilitation service standards in Australia with those used in the United States and the United Kingdom. The mixed method qualitative analysis performed on the three sets of standards demonstrated repeatability and convergence via the use of triangulation. Australian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine (AFRM) standards were found to be consistent and concise, to provide definitions, and to cover the majority of clinically relevant issues to an extent similar to the other rehabilitation service standards. Inclusion of standards for business practices, the rehabilitation process for the person served, and outpatient and community-based rehabilitation services should be considered by the AFRM.

The purpose of this study was to measure physiotherapy performance in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) by comparing clinical practice to evidence from systematic reviews. Exercise was used in almost all treatment sessions in the management of knee OA. The study revealed that this practice is desirable since it is supported by high quality evidence. Physiotherapists also provide several other treatment modalities based on evidence of moderate or low quality, or no evidence from systematic reviews. Ways to promote high quality evidence into physiotherapy practice should be identified and evaluated.

The aim of this study was to examine the physical function, gait, and quality of life of patients after total hip replacement (THR) randomly assigned to either a targeted home- or center-based exercise program. The authors found out that the targeted strengthening program was effective for both the home- and center-based groups. No group differences were found in the majority of the outcome measures. This finding is important because it shows that THR patients can achieve significant improvements through a targeted strengthening program delivered at a center or at home.

The purpose of this study was to review research regarding mechanisms of muscle contracture in cerebral palsy (CP) and the effectiveness of stretching, and to discuss current physical therapy stretching practices. Community-based recreation opportunities that encourage flexibility and fitness are explored as alternatives to traditional therapy stretching approaches.

The most widely used clinical assessment of spasticity is the modified Ashworth scale (MAS), an ordinal scale, but its validity, reliability and sensitivity have often been challenged. The present study addresses this deficit by examining whether quantitative measures of neural and muscular components of spasticity are valid, and whether they are strongly correlated with the MAS. Lack of significant correlation between the quantitative measures of stroke effects on spastic joints and the clinical assessment of muscle tone, as reflected in the MAS suggests that the MAS does not provide reliable information about the origins of the torque change associated with spasticity, or about its contributing components.

The purpose of this review is to summarize changing paradigms and perceptions in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. The data collected highlight the value of comprehensive risk factor modification in the prevention of initial and recurrent cardiovascular events.

The objective of this study is to test the feasibility of a classification system developed to record the contents of treatment sessions intended to improve mobility and self-care by persons with a spinal cord injury (SCI) in clinical rehabilitation. The findings support the suitability of the classification system as a tool to record the contents of SCI treatment sessions in different settings and by different therapists.

This study sought to assess the impact of co-ordinated multidisciplinary care in primary care, represented by the delivery of formal care planning by primary care teams or shared across primary-secondary teams, on outcomes in stroke, relative to usual care. The authors observed that while multidisciplinary care planning may not unequivocally improve the care of patients with completed stroke, there may be process benefits such as improved task allocation between providers. Further study on the impact of active GP involvement in multidisciplinary care planning is warranted.

Constraint-induced aphasia therapy (CIAT) offers potential benefits to individuals with history of aphasia-producing ischemic stroke. The goals of this pilot study were to implement the original German CIAT protocol, refine the treatment program, and confirm its efficacy in patients with chronic aphasia. Given that the duration of treatment was only 1 week, the authors observed that these linguistic improvements in post stroke aphasia participants were remarkable. The results indicate that the CIAT protocol used in this study may be a useful tool in language restoration after stroke.

The objectives of this study was to determine if chronic pain patients make attributions regarding the causes of unmet goals consistent with the goal violation effect (GVE) and to determine differences for the GVE and the individual attributions making up the GVE among unmet coping skills, medication, exercise, social, and work goals.

This article reviews the basic principles and evidence for the effectiveness of a semantic-based treatment for naming deficits in aphasia. This article focuses on three aspects of semantic-based treatment. First, the theoretical basis for semantic treatment approaches to alleviate naming deficits is explained. Second, the different types of semantic treatment approaches (i.e., substitutive and restitutive treatments) are reviewed. More attention is provided to restitutive treatment approaches, and some ideas regarding why these treatments may be effective are discussed. Finally, in the third section of the article, the effect of semantic treatment on the overall communicative effectiveness and suggestions for future research in this field are discussed.

Adolescent neck/shoulder pain (NSP) is a common and sometimes debilitating problem. Several risk factors for this condition have been investigated, but no studies have previously evaluated associations between fitness, motor competence, body composition and adolescent NSP.
In this study, 1608 males and females of mean age 14 years answered questions on their history of NSP (4 measures), and were tested for aerobic fitness, upper and lower limb power, trunk endurance, grip strength, shoulder flexibility, motor competence and anthropometric factors. The study revealed that adolescent NSP was associated with fitness and motor competence, although the associations varied with gender, and their strength was limited.

The Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW) is committed to promoting and supporting the meaningful and equitable employment of persons with disabilities. Providing a one-stop service for both employers and persons with disabilities, the CCRW responds to employment equity human resource needs through resource tools, services and support.

The International Brain Injury Association (IBIA) has re-launched its quarterly publication, the International NeuroTrauma Letter (NTL) in an electronic format. This publication is intended to serve as an international communication tool for physicians, clinicians, researchers, policy makers, advocacy organizations, and consumers interested in neurotrauma. The intention is that the International NeuroTrauma Letter will bring together diverse groups involved with neurotrauma issues to share knowledge, challenge current ideas, encourage research, and spawn legislative innovation.

This scientific presentation will be held September 5, 2008 at l’Institut de Réadapation de Montréal. Main speaker is S. Kautz, an associate professor in the department of Physical Therapy, University of Florida (UF) and a researcher at the VA-BRRC. His research combines theoretical and experimental studies of the biomechanics and control of locomotion with the goal of improving walking in persons with post-stroke hemiparesis. His research team showed for the first time that the presence of the additional muscle synergies is associated with better walking performance and that differentiation of the merged synergies maybe induced by a locomotor neurorehabilitation intervention.

This scientific conference will take place at l'École de réadaptation de l’Université de Montréal on September 4, 2008. It will feature Carolynn Patten, an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy of the University of Florida and a researcher at the VA-BRRC. Dr. Patten's expertise lies in understanding the neurophysiological and biomechanical mechanisms of motor dysfunction in post-stroke hemiparesis. Further, she has considerable expertise in developing effective therapeutic interventions for this population. Her team of researchers conducted a randomized, staged clinical trial to differentiate the effects of: a) dynamic high-intensity resistance training and b) traditional clinic-based gait training on neuromuscular activation impairment and recovery of walking function in persons post-stroke.