The main goal of this article is to present the design, technical development, and preliminary validation of an innovative mechatronic device for force/torque measurements taken from the human foot using pilot data. The device, formed by a mobile platform equipped with two six-axis force/torque sensors, was used to perform accurate quantitative measurements during isometric exercises, aimed at ...

Inpatient medical rehabilitation has maintained a typical medical-model focus and structure for many years. However, as integrative therapies, such as yoga therapy, emerge as treatments which can enhance the physical and mental health of its participants, it is important to determine if they can be easily implemented into the traditional rehabilitation structure and milieu. Therefore, the purpo...

This article uses individual vocational rehabilitation case data and disability insurance (DI) benefit histories from the master beneficiary record file to compare the costs and savings to the DI trust fund associated with the beneficiary rehabilitation program. Using cost-benefit procedures and varying assumptions as to the impact of vocational rehabilitation services, the savings to the trust...

In this article we present the design, development and implementation of the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Routine Outcome Measurement (PR-ROM) project, the first systematic effort to implement mental health routine outcome measures in Israel. The goal of the PR-ROM is to provide updated information about the process and impact of psychiatric rehabilitation services in Israel and to establish a su...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this phenomenological study was to understand the meanings of the lived experiences of persons with long-term mental illness at a social working cooperative. METHOD Eighteen participants were interviewed either two or three times while participating in a working cooperative in a community psychosocial rehabilitation program. Data were analyzed and interpreted using ...

[Purpose] The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of stationary cycling exercise on the balance and gait abilities of chronic stroke patients. [Subjects] Thirty-two chronic stroke patients were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=16) or a control group (n=16). [Methods] All of the subjects received the standard rehabilitation program for 30 minutes, while the experi...

Medical publications contain numerous references to obstacles or disincentives confronting patients who wish to return to work after illness or injury. Current developments of importance to this aspect of medical practice and four recent studies, conducted in Edinburgh, that may contribute to the continuing debate about how best to deal with such problems are reviewed. The studies concern measu...

It was once falsely believed that neurological and functional recovery after stroke occurred only in the first 6 months after lesion. The perception of this "6-month myth" continues to negatively impact the attitudes of patients towards their rehabilitation and on the clinicians and therapists making optimal training plans. Here we briefly outline some evidence that debunked the 6-month myth, w...

OBJECTIVE Detect the main predictive non-motor factors related to independent community ambulation after stroke. Furthermore, we propose a scale to estimate the probability of a stroke patient achieving independent community ambulation after 6 months of rehabilitation. DESIGN AND SETTINGS Prospective cohort. Subjects treated in a rehabilitation center in a large metropolitan area. Independent...