Journal of Modern Rehabilitation
Volume:15 Issue: 4, Autumn 2021

The use of screen media by children and adolescents is increasing and has destructive effects on various development aspects. This study was done to determine the correlates of Screen Time (ST) in children and adolescents.

Published articles from January 2000 to September 2020 were searched through PubMed, PsycNet, Science Direct, Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Magiran, SID, and IranDoc databases were searched for Persian studies with no time limitation. The used keywords were correlates OR predictors + screen time, screen use, screen viewing, screen media, mobile use, cellphone use, TV/ television viewing, TV/ television use, TV/ television, computer use, video game, Media exposure, Media use, electronic media, digital media, digital devices, tablet use + adolescent, youth, infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and children. The literature search identified 51 studies that met the inclusion criteria.

After reviewing the studies according to the PRISMA checklist, the correlates were Grouped in five categories: (i) child biological and demographic correlates, (ii) behavioral correlates, (iii) family biological and demographic correlates, (iv) family structure related correlates, and (v) socio-cultural and environmental correlates. The most common correlates found were age, sex, and Body Mass Index (BMI) of children, age and education of parents, socio-economic status, physical activity, quality of the neighborhood, parents’ ST, rules, and Digital Devices (DD) in the child/ adolescent’s bedroom.

The ST in children and adolescents is associated with several factors at intrapersonal, interpersonal, and social/ cultural levels. It is suggested that health promotion programs to reduce the use of these devices should be implemented with a comprehensive view of the individual, family, and society.

Neural mobilization is the most important technique used for the treatment of nervous system dysfunction. This study aimed to systematically review and evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of neural mobilization techniques in nervous system dysfunctions by assessing Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials (RCTs).

We used all English papers published in five electronic databases from 2000 to 2020 using the following keywords: “neural mobilization”, “nerve mobilization”, “physical therapy”, “nerve glide exercises”, “neural stretching”, “neurodynamics”, and “neural physiotherapy”. The full text of the articles identified was reviewed to select papers specifically discussing neural mobilization as a treatment modality. The PEDro scale was used to assess the quality of these trials. The randomized clinical trials were selected that examined the therapeutic effect of neural mobilization.

Twelve RCTs were identified. Five RCTs used the same median nerve tensioning technique in patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). In some studies, the methods of neural mobilization were different. Fourteen papers examined different neurodynamic dysfunctions such as lateral epicondylalgia, radicular neck pain, postoperative spinal surgery, radicular low back pain, and chronic tension-type headache. There is moderate evidence (Level 2) to support distal nerve tensioning and tendon gliding techniques in CTS patients. Also, there was limited (Level 3) and insufficient (Level 4) evidence about using cervical lateral gliding away from their involved side and upper limb tension test mobilization and the use of slump stretches and combinations techniques in the treatment of neurodynamic dysfunction, respectively. Besides, all studies reported a positive effect compared to neutral effects.

Although clinicians frequently use neuromobilization techniques for both diagnosis and treatment of nervous system dysfunctions, the quality assessment of 20 RCTs has shown insufficient evidence to support the efficacy of these techniques in the treatment of nervous system dysfunctions.

SARS-CoV-2 is a coronavirus, primarily targets the human respiratory system and causes symptoms similar to those of pneumonia. However, these patients do not only experience respiratory problems. Those with COVID-19 infection may show various signs and symptoms, including fever, shortness of breath, dry cough, nasal congestion, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, myalgia, arthralgia, fatigue (muscular and mental), joint swelling, headache, diarrhea, as well as some musculoskeletal symptoms. Therefore, this article aimed to investigate the major musculoskeletal problems in patients with COVID-19 through a review study.

This study gathered the related published studies in PubMed, Web of Science, and Science Direct. The main keywords were “COVID-19”, “coronavirus”, and “musculoskeletal problem”.

The major musculoskeletal symptoms include muscle fatigue, myalgia, arthralgia, joint swelling (reactive arthritis), and such conditions as joint limitations, tendon shortening, and muscle weakness due to prolonged bed rest. However, their prevalence rates have not been investigated systematically.

Our findings revealed that attention to musculoskeletal rehabilitation of patients with COVID-19 is as essential as their respiratory rehabilitation. Besides, it would be effective in reducing the physical complications of hospitalization, returning to independence and functional activities, and improving the quality of the patients’ life.

So far, many studies have investigated the extent and nature of the grammatical deficit in aphasia. However, to the best of our knowledge, this research is the first in the Persian language to inspect the comprehension of patients with Broca’s aphasia on diverse syntactically complex structures.

To scrutinize the impact of task on aphasics’ performance, four age-, education- and gender-matched Persian-speaking patients with Broca’s aphasia were compared with their healthy matched controls regarding the two different tasks of grammatical judgment and figurine act-out task. The structures used to examine the subjects’ performance included agentive passive, subject cleft, object cleft, object relative clause, and object experiencer psychological verbs.

Our results which supported the trade-off hypothesis, showed that our subjects generally performed better in grammatical judgment task than in figurine act-out task (P≤0.05). Particularly in the second task, as our inner task comparison, the patients’ problems were more severe in object cleft, object experiencer, and object relative clauses: all structures whose interpretations need more cognitive load.

Our findings put more weight on the interactive or constraint-based model of language processing.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sudden sensorineural hearing loss, vestibular neuritis, and infection with COVID-19.

In this study, a total of 56 Iranians (32 females and 24 males) with a Mean±SD age of 45.12±14 years were studied in Tehran City, Iran. Individuals diagnosed with Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSNHL) or vestibular neuritis based on definitive diagnostic criteria were included in the study. The methodology comprised four sections of underlying Sudden Hearing Loss,, auditory and vestibular inspection, SARS-CoV-2 Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test, and statistical analysis. Also, the videonystagmography test was used in participants with vertigo to diagnose vestibular neuritis. Pure tone audiometry confirmed SSNHL in some patients with a complaint of hearing loss. Furthermore, tuning fork, Rinne and Weber tests were also performed.

The results of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR in 56 subjects showed that eight subjects (22.2%) with vestibular neuritis and two with SSNHL (10%) had a positive RT-PCR test. The Chi-square and Fisher exact-tests with a 95% confidence interval revealed no statistically significant (P>0.05) relationship between COVID-19 infection and vestibular neuritis or SSNHL.

The present study showed no statistically significant relationship between audiovestibular disorders and positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test. However, the possibility of this relationship cannot be ruled out, and there is a need for studies with larger sample sizes.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a cluster of acute respiratory illnesses with unknown etiology, which firstly appeared in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. All educational institutes of Pakistan were completely closed from March 13, 2020, to August 15, 2020. This condition disturbs the daily routines of children with mental health needs. This sudden closure limited their physical activities in their routine life. This study aims to observe the depression associated with COVID-19 and its impact on the physical activities of young adults of Pakistan.

A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 384 young adults. A modified depression scale was used to assess depression, and the revised physical activity questionnaire was used to evaluate the physical activity of Pakistani young adults in the past month.

About 57.8% of the samples were sometimes sad; 44.5% sometimes felt grouchy in the mood; 43.8% never felt hopeless about the future. Also, 32.6% sometimes slept less or more than usual, 35.9% sometimes had difficulty concentrating on their work, 48.7% slept 6-8 hours per day. Besides, 49% engaged 1-3 hours in work or study per day; 43.2% watched TV, sat quietly, or listened to music for 1-3 hours. About 57.8% engaged less than 1 hour per week in light physical activities. Also, 77.9% engaged for less than 1 hour per week in moderately strenuous activities.

Depression could be highly associated with the COVID-19 outbreak, and it might affect the physical activities of young adults.

The present study aimed to investigate the immediate effects of two types of Kinesio taping on the temporal and spatial variables of gait initiation in individuals with and without Functional Ankle Instability (FAI).

Thirty semi-professional athletes (15 with and 15 without FAI [control]) were recruited for this study. The gait initiation task was examined before and after the two types of Kinesio taping on a force plate. Temporal (Reaction Phase [RP], Anticipatory Postural Adjustment Phase [APAP]), and spatial variables were recorded and compared between Groups, before and after the tape application.

The results of multiple repeated-measure analyses of variance showed no significant differences for “factor” and “Group by factor” interaction effects for any outcome measure (P>0.05). There were no significant differences for Group effects except for the APAP (F=10.27, P=0.003). The APAA was 71.95 ms longer in the FAI Group (476.95±15.87 ms) compared to the control Group (405.04±15.87 ms).

Kinesio taping application does not influence any of the gait initiation parameters on the force plate. Participants with FAI demonstrated longer APAP which might be due to recurrent injury and instability during sports or physical activity.

Expressive vocabulary plays a vital role in child language development, and its assessment can be one of the essential indicators to identify language developmental delay, especially in children with Down syndrome. We developed a list of expressive vocabulary and compared the size and class of expressive vocabularies between typically developing and Down syndrome children.

Expressive vocabulary of 150 children was examined in this study. A total of 120 typically developing Farsi-speaking children (in four age Groups, with a 6-month interval) and 30 children with Down syndrome (aged 24-48 months) participated in this study. The parents of the children filled out the form that included 636 words from different vocabulary classes. These classes were based on studies that investigated language development in Farsi-speaking children.

The expressive vocabulary size in Farsi-speaking children was significantly higher than in Down syndrome children (P≤0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between boys and girls regarding expressive vocabulary size in two Groups of children. The size of nouns in all age Groups is more than other classes, and the size of conjunctions in all age Groups is less than the other ones. A direct correlation was found between age and the size of expressive vocabulary.

According to the study findings, the list of expressive vocabulary can detect delays in developing expressive vocabulary.

Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) is a degenerative neurogenic disorder characterized by multiple symptoms affecting the movements and autonomic nervous system. It reduces the function of various types of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. MSA causes some movement disorders such as dysarthria that is one of the most common symptoms in these patients. The first neurological sign that sometimes progresses is the complete inability to produce speech. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of an intensive voice therapy based on the principles of Lee Silverman Voice Therapy (LSVT) on improving acoustic features, intelligibility, and quality of life index of the patients with MSA.

The patient was a 57-year-old woman with MSA disorder. Acoustic assessments of voice, intelligibility, and voice handicap index were performed before and after the treatment program according to LSVT principles.

Acoustic values such as intensity, frequency, and harmonic to noise ratio increased, and jitter and shimmer parameters decreased. Amount of perception of intelligibility increased. A significant decrease in the scores of the quality of life index related to voice handicap was observed.

After treatment by intensive voice therapy, the acoustic assessment revealed improvement in all voice parameters. The perceptual assessment showed improved intelligibility and increased the patient’s quality of life. Intensive voice therapy based on LSVT principles effectively improves the acoustic features, which subsequently cause intelligibility to be more comprehensible. It generally improves verbal communication, which has a positive effect on the patient’s quality of life.