JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies

Foods are not only masticated and swallowed but they also influence the choice of utensils and their use. Comparing the contexts in which different utensils are used with each food form could help in the assessment of individuals experiencing eating difficulties in the food culture unique to East Asian countries.

Lateral epicondylitis (LE) is a condition that impairs daily activities due to pain exacerbated by wrist and hand movements. The ArmLock sleeve is a novel, nonsurgical intervention to stretch the wrist extensor muscles by maintaining the elbow in extension, forearm in pronation, and wrist and fingers in flexion.

Digital, smart, and electronic low vision aids (LVAs) have expanded options for visual rehabilitation and functional independence among people with visual impairment. However, adoption of these technologies remains limited, particularly in low- and middle-income countries such as Jordan, where access, affordability, and training resources may be constrained.

Proprioception training is essential for restoring knee function in several medical conditions. Open kinetic chain (OKC) and closed kinetic chain (CKC) exercises are used in active movement interventions to enhance proprioception. Exergames, supported by wearable sensors, offer a solution by providing real-time feedback. Auditory feedback (AF) embedded in the serious game training has shown benefits in upper limb rehabilitation compared to visual feedback (VF) alone. However, the potential of AF in exergames that provide knee training is not known.

Physician burnout is highly prevalent in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), but its origins and drivers remain poorly understood.

The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) remains widely used for cognitive screening, yet its performance varies substantially across educational backgrounds. Linear education corrections fail to capture the nonlinear interference patterns among subitems.

Noncommunicable diseases are a global concern with high mortality. Among these, cardiovascular disease requires more attention due to recurrence with altered physical activity. “SRCardioCare” (Sri Ramachandra Cardio Care) is an integrated mobile software that was developed to engage patients with effective communication and e-media support. We intend to explore the development of mobile software and its perceived impacts among health care professionals.

In 2022, over 18,000 patients aged ≥70 years were hospitalized in the Netherlands for a hip fracture, with 50% requiring geriatric rehabilitation after surgery. Increasing geriatric rehabilitation patient numbers, staff shortages, and rising pressure on health care budgets make adequate care challenging. To make geriatric rehabilitation more future-proof, a stronger focus on home-based rehabilitation is needed. Early identification of patients likely to be discharged soon enables timely discharge planning and coordination of support at home. Early geriatric rehabilitation discharge planning may help organize home-based rehabilitation more effectively by arranging home care services in advance. This can facilitate smoother transitions toward home and prevent discharge delays, which is important to ensure optimal bed occupancy.

Plantar fasciitis causes heel pain and functional limitations; conservative treatment typically includes plantar fascia and calf stretching. High-intensity laser therapy (HILT) offers deeper photobiomodulation and potential tissue-healing benefits, but robust evidence of added clinical benefit remains limited.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) may, and often does, profoundly reshape daily life, altering physical abilities, social roles and personal identities. While assistive technologies, including assistive robotics, are often framed as solutions to re-establish independence, their adoption is shaped by practical, emotional and social considerations as well as functional qualities. Individuals with SCI, their relatives and healthcare professionals need to navigate complex dynamics when encountering assistive robotics. Understanding how assistive technologies are perceived and positioned in everyday life may help developers and designers create assistive robotics that are meaningful and useful for intended users.

Leveraging digital technologies in healthcare is recognised as essential for effective and efficient services. However, significant challenges in implementing these technologies in stroke rehabilitation practice remain, and research on their influence is limited.

The global incidence of spinal cord injury (SCI) is between 10 and 80 new cases per million people each year. This equates to between 250,000 and 500,000 injuries worldwide per year. In the United Kingdom, approximately 4400 people per year sustain an SCI. People with tetraplegia report upper limb function as their highest priority for improvement after SCI. Using immersive virtual reality (VR) headsets, physical rehabilitation exercises can be completed in engaging digital environments. Immersive VR therefore has the potential to increase the amount of therapy undertaken, leading to improvements in arm and hand function. There is little evidence supporting immersive VR as exercise in SCI, especially while patients with SCI are undergoing acute rehabilitation. In SCI research, co-design of new interventions is not a widely adopted approach, yet people with tetraplegia want to contribute with their expert knowledge on their experiences of SCI.