A single-topic issue on translational research in spinal cord injury was also published with this issue of JRRD. The supplement reports the proceedings of a conference, entitled "Translational Research in Spinal Cord Injury: Avoiding Potential Pitfalls," sponsored by the VA Center of Excellence in Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), the South Florida Model SCI System, and The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. Manuscripts published in the single-topic issue discuss steps needed to move promising research related to SCI from labs into clinical trials. Full-text manuscripts are available, free of charge, on-line at www.vard.org.
MANUSCRIPTS FEATURED IN VOLUME 40, ISSUE 4
Social integration of people with disabilities enhances life and family satisfaction, pg 119
Thirty-four matched pairs of individuals with traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, severe burn, or intra-articular fracture were interviewed five years post-injury to assess the relationship of social integration (SI) to life satisfaction and family satisfaction. Study revealed that a support network of friends, family, and others significantly enhances quality of life for individuals impaired by catastrophic injury.
Novel wheelchair assessment tool measures independence at home and in community, pg 213
A panel of rehabilitation experts and users of manual wheelchair developed the first assessment tool that evaluates both home and community independence of persons who use manual wheelchairs. Five users of manual wheelchairs were tested twice to determine reliability and 101 users were tested once to determine internal consistency. Reliability, content validity and internal consistency were good. This tool may help rehabilitation specialists determine treatment goals for people who use manual wheelchairs, as well as their readiness and needs for home and community living.
City buses safe transportation for riders who use wheelchairs, pg 225
Scientific papers and reports written on wheelchair transportation and bus safety were reviewed to determine how frequently a large city bus is involved in a severe crash. Investigators discovered that very little information has been published regarding bus safety and crashes. Bus accidents involving riders who used a wheelchair were related to non-collision events, such as abrupt braking, in which improperly used wheelchair tie-downs or rider seat belts resulted in minor injuries. Studies spanning 30 years indicate that the large city bus is a safe form of transportation. Wheelchair riders do not face undo risk of injury in a large city bus.
New test measures the impact of hearing loss on quality of life, pg 235
A speech-in-multitalker-babble test instrument was developed to examine the effects of hearing loss on self-perceived quality of life. Word recognition in quiet and in multitalker babble was measured on 24 listeners with normal hearing and 24 listeners with hearing loss. The test instrument described in this paper will be useful in evaluating the complaint of a patient unable to understand speech in a noisy background. With information about the word-recognition performance of patients in background noise, audiologists can optimize the aural rehabilitation strategy concerning counseling and amplification.
Repeated exposure to sentence material improves word-recognition, pg 241
Study examines the learning effects of repeated presentation of sentence materials in an adaptive paradigm. A set of sentence materials (VA Sentence Test--VAST) was developed using principles of the Neighborhood Activation Model (word-usage frequency and word confusability). Each sentence had three target words that were used as the measure in an adaptive threshold technique. Ten listeners with varying degrees of hearing sensitivity participated in five test sessions over 5 to 10 days. Data indicated word-recognition performance improves with repeated exposure to the test paradigm across several days of exposure. Improved performance across test sessions was not appreciably affected by age and degree of hearing loss.
Resistance exercises improve muscle coordination and strength in elders, pg 253
Eighty-nine elders with limited physical functioning participated in a study to evaluate if resistance training improved coordination and muscular strength. Study volunteers were place into one of two groups: either a no-treatment control or a 6-month in-home video-facilitated elastic-band resistance exercise program. The intervention group improved knee extension strength by 17 percent and hip extension by 21 percent and improved coordination and timing between peak knee and hip extension powers during lifting. Resistance-trained elders with a physical disability demonstrated strength benefits and improved coordination and more efficient lifting. More leg muscle power yields better functional lifting performance.
Cadaveric model aids in evaluating surgery techniques to repair shoulder dislocation, pg 265
Article discusses the development of a novel cadaveric shoulder dislocation model that yields in vivo pathology, structural and functional changes within the body. Using a custom testing device that simulated shoulder muscle forces, cadaveric shoulders were dislocated. Forcible positioning using this shoulder dislocation model yielded inflammation and tearing of the shoulder and stretching similar to lesions observed in vivo. Shoulder instability is a potentially treatable, predisposing factor to degenerative joint disease of the shoulder and rotator cuff tear. Study presents a human cadaveric model that simulates in vivo conditions and permits quantitative evaluation of surgical repair techniques that lead to improvements in treatment after shoulder dislocation.
Gait patterns in young adults from Kuwait and Scandinavia, pg 283
Young Kuwaiti men and women were asked to walk at slow, medium, and fast self-selected walking speeds over a special mat that measured the position and time of each footfall. Study collected basic gait data to determine how they compared to data from a Swedish study. Investigators found differences in walking patterns of Kuwaiti and Swedish subjects suggesting that a need exists to further investigate differences between ethnically and geographically different populations to establish more encompassing gait reference data.
JRRD is a peer-reviewed, scientifically indexed publication covering all rehabilitation research disciplines: neurology, orthopedics, engineering, audiology, ophthalmology and optometry, outcomes, restorative, prosthetics, geriatrics, psychiatrics, and community reintegration. Formerly the Bulletin of Prosthetics Research, JRRD debuted in 1983 to include cross-disciplinary findings in rehabilitation. JRRD accepts original research papers, review articles, as well as clinical and technical commentary from U.S. and international researchers who investigate disability rehabilitation.
Journal
The Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development