Physical Therapy News and Research

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US opioid prescriptions drop by a half but it’s not all good news

The number of opioid prescriptions issued each month in the US dropped to less than a half. However, experts remain concerned about the number of high-risk prescriptions.

15 Mar 2019

Study yields patient-driven recommendations to reduce breast cancer-related financial burden

A qualitative study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health yielded nine patient-driven recommendations across circumstances that include changes to insurance, supportive services and financial assistance to reduce long-term, breast cancer-related economic burden.

8 Mar 2019

Mediterranean diet can improve athletes' endurance exercise performance within days

Researchers at Saint Louis University have found that eating a Mediterranean diet can improve athletes' endurance exercise performance after just four days.

7 Mar 2019

$Age is the strong predictor of regaining independence after surgery for hip fracture$

Age is the strong predictor of regaining independence after surgery for hip fracture

Most middle-aged and older adults recover their ability to live independently within a year after surgery for hip fracture, reports a study in the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

26 Feb 2019

Expert review identifies barriers to care for women with endometriosis

Women face a multitude of barriers to receiving quality care for endometriosis, a chronic, often painful disease that affects approximately 10% of reproductive-age women, an estimated 200 million women and teens worldwide.

26 Feb 2019

Exploring the factors around experience and management of pain in workplaces

Workers suffering from chronic pain takes an immense toll on both employees and employers. Whether the pain that individuals experience is physical or psychological, constant or intermittent, or caused by work conditions or brought to the job, its effect on their productivity and wellbeing is a huge problem.

25 Feb 2019

Surgery and other treatments offer viable options for adult scoliosis

For years, spine surgeons have debated the best methods for treating scoliosis in adults. Spinal curvature often results in more back pain, leg pain and other symptoms for adults than teens because adults also can have degeneration in the discs between vertebrae, and spinal stenosis -- a narrowing of the opening for the spinal nerves.

21 Feb 2019

Children with cerebral palsy to benefit from 'artificial muscles'

A team of researchers from the University of Delaware has received nearly $200,000 in start-up funding to develop a motorized ankle foot device for children with cerebral palsy that includes a novel artificial muscle.

7 Feb 2019

New solutions needed to improve care and reduce cost of high-need, high-cost patients

By many estimates, only 5% of U.S. patients are high-need, high-cost, yet they account for about 50% of health care spending.

7 Feb 2019

Self-care techniques should be first line of treatment for patients with facial pain, suggests study

While oral appliances such as splints and bite guards are the most common treatment for facial pain from temporomandibular disorders, patients rate them as less helpful than self-care treatments, such as jaw exercises or warm compresses, finds a new study by researchers at NYU College of Dentistry.

5 Feb 2019

Researchers emphasize need for more physical activities for home-school children

Parents who home-school their children may think putting them into organized sports and physical activities keeps them fit, but Rice University researchers say young people need more.

4 Feb 2019

UTHealth enrolls first U.S. patient in novel stem cell trial to treat stroke disability

The first U.S. patient to participate in a global study of a stem cell therapy injected directly into the brain to treat stroke disability was enrolled in the clinical trial this week at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

28 Jan 2019

New recovery pathway could speed up time to next treatment for pancreatic cancer patients

Pancreaticoduodenectomy, or the Whipple operation, is one of the most complex abdominal surgeries, and is commonly prescribed as a first line of therapy for cancer located within the pancreatic head.

25 Jan 2019

IUPUI researcher receives $2.85 million grant to find ways to improve bone strength

A $2.85 million National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases-funded study at IUPUI will advance understanding of how bone cells sense and respond to mechanical force, one of the cues the skeleton relies on to regulate its strength.

21 Jan 2019

Neck-strengthening exercises can protect athletes from concussions

Rutgers researchers have proposed a solution for athletes at higher risk for sports-related concussions, such as football and soccer: Protect your head with neck-strengthening exercises in the pre-season.

17 Jan 2019

Study suggests single-person gowning step to help optimize sterile technique in the OR

For surgeons getting ready to enter the operating room, the chances of contamination may be lower if they put their gowns on by themselves - without the assistance of a surgical technician, according to an experimental study in the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

7 Jan 2019

Researchers investigate how physical exercise protects against sudden cardiac death

A group of researchers from the departments of Physical Therapy, Medicine and Electronic Engineering of Valencia University and from the innovations group ITACA have just published research into physical exercise as a protector against sudden cardiac death. The study has been published in the 'PlosOne' journal.

4 Jan 2019

Critically ill children experience muscle atrophy within one week of mechanical ventilation

Children with life-threatening respiratory failure who require mechanical ventilation in a pediatric intensive care unit commonly experience rapid muscle atrophy, according to a study published online Dec. 19, 2018, in PLOS ONE.

24 Dec 2018

Early physical therapy associated with reduction in opioid use

Patients who underwent physical therapy soon after being diagnosed with pain in the shoulder, neck, low back or knee were approximately 7 to 16 percent less likely to use opioids in the subsequent months, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Duke University School of Medicine.

14 Dec 2018

3D-printed adaptive aids can benefit patients with arthritis

Adaptive aids are expensive. Additive manufacturing, using low-cost 3D printers, can save upwards of 94 percent for simple household items.

12 Dec 2018