Journal of Modern Rehabilitation

Current Notion on Virtual Reality Rehabilitation Approach on Post Operative Lower Extremity Conditions: A Narrative Review

Om Wadhokar — 2025-02-11

Background: Lower extremity surgeries, such as total knee arthroplasty (TKA), total hip arthroplasty (THA), and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, require extensive rehabilitation to restore mobility and function. Traditional rehabilitation faces challenges such as patient adherence and access to care. Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a promising tool to enhance rehabilitation outcomes by offering interactive, engaging environments that improve patient motivation.
Methods: A narrative review was conducted to evaluate the current literature on VR-based rehabilitation for post-operative lower extremity conditions. Relevant studiesfrom 2019 to 2024were selected from databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane, focusing on VR's application in patients recovering from TKA, THA, ACL reconstruction, and traumatic lower limb amputations.
Results: The review found that VR interventions significantly improved proprioception, balance, and patient engagement compared to traditional rehabilitation methods. VR's interactive nature provided real-time feedback and enhanced patient motivation. However, mixed results were reported regarding VR's superiority in pain management and overall functional outcomes. VR was shown to complement traditional therapy rather than replace it.
Conclusion: VR-based rehabilitation offers a promising adjunct to traditional methods, improving patient engagement and specific functional outcomes. While VR enhances recovery, further research is needed to establish standardized protocols and determine its long-term efficacy in post-operative rehabilitation.

Translation, Cultural Adaptation, and Validity of Barnes Language Assessment in Persian Ageing Population: A Preliminary Study

Ahmad Reza Khatoonabadi — 2025-02-05

Background: As the global population ages, the need for sensitive language assessments for dementia increases. While the Barnes Language Assessment (BLA) is a valuable tool in English, it has not been translated and validated in Persian-speaking populations.
Methods: This cross-sectional study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the BLA into Persian (BLA-Per) and evaluate its psychometric properties. The translation process followed the International Quality of Life Assessment (IQOLA) protocol. The BLA-Per was administered to 30 healthy older adults and 30 individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Test-retest reliability was assessed in the AD group. Statistical data analysis was performed using SPSS software (version 24) at a significance level of 0.05.
Results: Due to significant differences between the patients and cognitively healthy groups regarding age and education years, we used ANCOVA to control for these variables' effects on between-group comparisons. Significant differences in BLA-Per scores were observed between healthy controls and AD patients in 8 out of 14 test components, demonstrating good discriminative validity. Intra-class correlation coefficients for test-retest reliability were above 0.75 for most subtests.
Conclusion: The BLA-Per demonstrated good validity and reliability in assessing language impairments in Persian-speaking individuals with AD. Future research should investigate the BLA-Per in larger samples across different age groups and stages of AD.

Investigation of Occupational Performance and Life Habits in Older Adults with Early Stages of Alzheimer's Disease in Tehran

Hamid Dalvand — 2025-02-03

Background and aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the occupational performance and life habits of elderly adults with early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Methods: This study was cross-sectional research. Participants were elderly adults, aged 65-85 years with Alzheimer's disease that refer to Roozbeh and Ziaeian Hospital and Kahrizak Charity in Tehran, Iran in 2022. Seventy patients (36 male, 34 female) were recruited based on convenience sampling method. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure and Life Habits Questionnaire were used to determine the occupational performance and life habits. Data were analyzed using t independent T test and Mann-Whitney test using SPSS₂₁.
Result: The mean age of elderly male and female was 72.02 ± 3.74 and 71.14 ± 4.09 years, respectively. 68.3% of the priorities of occupational performance was related to the self-care. In male the priorities of self-care were 76.7% and in female it was 59.4%. No significant gender difference was found in satisfaction with occupational performance (P>0.05). (P>0.05). In the Life Habit Questionnaire, fitness had the highest participation level, while communication had the lowest. A significant gender difference was observed in participation levels in daily activities (P<0.05).
Conclusion: The results showed that the most important occupational performance priorities of elderly adults with Alzheimer's disease was self-care. The highest level of participation among the daily activities was related to the fitness and the lowest was communication. This study could help occupational therapists identify the priorities, habits, and participation levels of men and women with early Alzheimer's in daily activities.

Effects of a Warm-Up Injury Prevention Protocol on Risk Factors for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury in Elite Basketball Players

Ali Honarvar — 2025-02-02

Background: Athletes involved in sports requiring frequent cutting and pivoting movements are at increased risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. This study investigates the effectiveness of neuromuscular warm-up exercises—including strength, balance, plyometric, and core stability training—in reducing ACL injury risk.
Methods: Thirty adolescent male basketball players (ages 13-18) were randomly assigned to either the control group (CON, n=15; age: 15.66 ± 1.7 years, height: 172.7 ± 9.6 cm, weight: 66.74 ± 11.2 kg) or the neuromuscular training (NMT) group (n=15; age: 14.73 ± 0.70 years, height: 174.0 ± 6.7 cm, weight: 64.79 ± 10.8 kg). The NMT group performed a structured injury prevention warm-up program three times a week for eight weeks before regular basketball training (20 minutes), while the CON group followed their usual basketball practice. Measurements of knee proprioception (including specific motion directions), knee valgus and flexion torque, trunk endurance via the Biering-Sorenson test, and isometric strength of various muscle groups were taken pre- and post-intervention.
Result: Significant improvements in isometric strength were observed in all assessed muscle groups in the NMT group (p < 0.05). However, no significant changes were found in knee valgus, flexion torque, trunk endurance, or knee proprioception (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: While the NMT protocol significantly improves isometric muscle strength in adolescent male basketball players, it does not show a direct effect on other ACL injury risk factors. Therefore, incorporating NMT into training routines may support strength development but should be combined with other targeted interventions to more effectively reduce ACL injury risk.

Anxiety, Mobility, Disability and Proprioception in Adults with Mild Neck Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study

Pablo Mleziva — 2025-01-25

Background. Studies on subclinical neck pain (SCNP), known as mild pain, are lacking in literature. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in anxiety, neck movement, disability, and proprioception in people with chronic SCNP (12 females and 4 males, Age: 28.1±4.0) and people without neck pain (17 females and 6 males, Age: 25.8±3.1).

Methods. A cross-sectional study with thirty nine participants was conducted. Participants were instructed to score their pain using the visual analog scale (VAS) (pain group: <4/10 and normal group: 0/10), anxiety level with the State-Trait anxiety inventory (STAI), and neck disability with the neck disability index (NDI). In addition, active range of motion (AROM) and joint position error (JPE) were assessed in participants of both groups.

Results. There was no significant difference in mean baseline characteristics between the two groups. Participants in the pain group reported significantly higher median NDI (p=<0.001) and higher mean current STAI_S (p=0.032) scores than participants with no pain. No significant differences in mean flexion, extension, lateral flexion right, lateral flexion left, rotation right, or rotation left were found between groups (p=0.95, p=0.68, p=0.29, p=0.59, p=0.70, and p=0.17, respectively). In addition, there were no significant differences in mean cervical spine joint position error flexion, extension, rotation right, and rotation left by study group (p=0.65, p=0.33, p=0.26, and p=0.23 respectively.
Conclusion. SCNP can substantially influence functional ability and anxiety levels, especially among students in higher education institutions dealing with additional stressors. The interaction between pain intensity, disability, and anxiety underscores the potential for a detrimental feedback loop, underscoring the significance of early intervention.
Methods. A cross-sectional study with thirty nine participants was conducted. Participants were instructed to score their pain using the visual analog scale (VAS) (pain group: <4/10 and normal group: 0/10), anxiety level with the State-Trait anxiety inventory (STAI), and neck disability with the neck disability index (NDI). In addition, active range of motion (AROM) and joint position error (JPE) were assessed in participants of both groups.
Results. There was no significant difference in mean baseline characteristics between the two groups. Participants in the pain group reported significantly higher median NDI (p=<0.001) and higher mean current STAI_S (p=0.032) scores than participants with no pain. No significant differences in mean flexion, extension, lateral flexion right, lateral flexion left, rotation right, or rotation left were found between groups (p=0.95, p=0.68, p=0.29, p=0.59, p=0.70, and p=0.17, respectively). In addition, there were no significant differences in mean cervical spine joint position error flexion, extension, rotation right, and rotation left by study group (p=0.65, p=0.33, p=0.26, and p=0.23 respectively.
Conclusion. SCNP can substantially influence functional ability and anxiety levels, especially among students in higher education institutions dealing with additional stressors. The interaction between pain intensity, disability, and anxiety underscores the potential for a detrimental feedback loop, underscoring the significance of early intervention.