📄 Category

rehabilitation medicine and physical therapy

29 papers

Rehabilitation medicine and physical therapy focus on helping people regain strength, mobility, and independence after injury, illness, or surgery. This dynamic field explores everything from advanced prosthetics and stroke recovery to chronic pain management and athletic injury prevention, aiming to improve quality of life through evidence-based movement and care.

On Gist.Science, we make the latest research from medRxiv instantly accessible to everyone. We process every new preprint in this category as soon as it is posted, providing both easy-to-understand plain-language explanations and detailed technical summaries to bridge the gap between complex science and real-world application.

Below are the most recent studies in rehabilitation medicine and physical therapy, curated to keep you informed on the cutting edge of patient recovery and functional improvement.

WITHDRAWN: Distributional Impacts of AI-Enhanced Telerehabilitation on Functional Recovery: A Recentered Influence Function Quantile Regression Decomposition Analysis

This withdrawn study utilized Recentered Influence Function quantile regression and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition to demonstrate that AI-enhanced telerehabilitation significantly improves functional recovery for post-stroke patients, particularly benefiting those at the lower end of the recovery distribution through fundamental changes in recovery mechanisms rather than just patient characteristics.

Tan, W. L., Mukhopadhyay, A.2026-03-16📄 rehabilitation medicine and physical therapy

A pragmatic, decentralized trial of the home-based InTandem neurorehabilitation system: analyses of engagement, safety, and effectiveness from the OrcHESTRAS trial

The OrcHESTRAS trial demonstrates that the autonomous, home-based InTandem neurorehabilitation system achieved high engagement and significantly improved walking endurance and functional mobility in adults with chronic stroke-related gait impairment, with greater usage correlating to better outcomes.

Awad, L. N., Taylor, S. R., Pohlig, R. T., Maricich, Y. A., Finklestein, S. P., Riley, E. H., Carlowicz, C. A., Harris, B. A., Bethoux, F. A.2026-03-16📄 rehabilitation medicine and physical therapy

Smartphone video-based estimates knee extension moments during chair rise relate to MRI measures of muscle function

This study demonstrates that smartphone video-based estimates of knee extension moments using OpenCap correlate significantly with MRI measures of quadriceps muscle volume and microstructure, offering a scalable and accessible alternative to costly imaging and dynamometry for assessing muscle function in clinical and large-scale settings.

Magruder, R. D., Hall, M., Vainberg, Y., Asay, J. L., Kogan, F., Hicks, J. L., Gold, G. E., Delp, S. L., Uhlrich, S. D., Mazzoli, V.2026-03-13📄 rehabilitation medicine and physical therapy

Altered cerebrovascular response to breath holding in thoracolumbar spinal cord injury measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy

This pilot study demonstrates that functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) can detect altered cerebrovascular responses to breath-holding-induced hypercapnia in individuals with thoracolumbar spinal cord injury, revealing delayed hemodynamic changes and a negative correlation between injury level and oxygenated hemoglobin increases in the prefrontal cortex.

Karunakaran, K. D., Chen, D. Y., Chiaravalloti, N. D., Biswal, B. B.2026-03-13📄 rehabilitation medicine and physical therapy

Post-Surgical Scar Management and Rehabilitation in Burn Patients: Insights from Gazas challenging context - A Retrospective Descriptive Study

This retrospective descriptive study of 177 burn patients in Gaza (2018–2020) demonstrates that despite the region's conflict-ridden and resource-limited context, comprehensive post-surgical rehabilitation and physiotherapy significantly improved functional outcomes, reduced pain and itching, and enhanced scar characteristics for survivors, particularly children.

Qaradaya, A. E. H., Van Hulse, J., Younis, J., Swairjo, F., Al Far, H., Al Zaeem, N., Wally, E., Abu Hashem, M., Al Shamali, R., Al Farra, M., Thurtle, N., Abu Mughiaseeb, M., Al Ghazal, M., Ben Farha (…)2026-03-12📄 rehabilitation medicine and physical therapy

Recovery Trajectories in Post-stroke Ataxia: Modeling a Bayesian Nonlinear Mixed-effects Model

This study utilizes a Bayesian nonlinear mixed-effects model to demonstrate that post-stroke ataxia recovery follows distinct trajectories where biological age determines the ultimate recovery ceiling while attentional function governs the speed of improvement, challenging the applicability of the proportional recovery rule and supporting stratified rehabilitation strategies.

Yamasaki, Y., Takamura, Y., Sato, H., Okuma, K., Kobayashi, Y., Kamijima, A., Takaishi, S., Maruki, H., Morioka, S.2026-03-11📄 rehabilitation medicine and physical therapy

Assessing Attention Process Training Efficacy in Improving Brain Fog Symptoms in Individuals with Long Covid: A Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

This study protocol outlines a pilot randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of Attention Process Training-3 (APT-3) in improving brain fog symptoms among individuals with Long Covid.

Magee, K., Roth, E., Cherney, L. R., Cohen-Zimerman, S.2026-03-11📄 rehabilitation medicine and physical therapy

The Development, Content Validity and Evaluation of an African-Contextual Back Pain Self-Management Model (AC-BP-SMM): The Delphi Technique

This study develops and validates the African-Contextual Back Pain Self-Management Model (AC-BP-SMM) by synthesizing 15 years of Zambian empirical research and securing expert consensus through a Delphi technique, creating the first culturally grounded framework to address the significant knowledge-action gap in back pain management among African healthcare workers.

Nkhata, L. A., Moyo, G. N., Balogun, O. J., Mweshi, M. M.2026-03-10📄 rehabilitation medicine and physical therapy

Using a co-design approach to develop aquatic reactive balance training for fall prevention

This paper describes the co-design of an aquatic reactive balance training program (AquaReBal) for older adults, developed through collaborative input from end-users and clinicians to address safety barriers and enhance engagement for fall prevention.

Slodownik, A. O.-, Faria, J. O., Thavarajah, S., Pacholczyk, K., Blain, B., Walker, J., Wiener, M., Mansfield, A., Chan Carusone, S.2026-03-09📄 rehabilitation medicine and physical therapy

Auricular Muscle- controlled Navigation for Powered Wheelchairs

This paper introduces and experimentally validates a novel, socially unobtrusive navigation system for powered wheelchairs that utilizes vestigial auricular muscle EMG signals, demonstrating through a comparative study of control strategies and a three-participant trial that a 300ms windowed Support Vector Machine approach offers a viable and accurate real-time control method for users with tetraplegia.

Nowak, A., Fleming, J., Zecca, M.2026-03-03📄 rehabilitation medicine and physical therapy