Aim  To compare walking function, pain, and fatigue in adults with cerebral palsy (CP) 7 years after an initial survey. Method  A multidimensional questionnaire was mailed to 226 people with unilateral (hemiplegic) or bilateral (diplegic) spastic CP who had participated in a 1999 survey. People with additional diagnoses were excluded. Special emphasis was placed on participants with deterioration in walking. The questionnaire was the same as in 1999. Results  One hundred and forty‐nine participants (76 males, 73 females; mean age 40y 5mo, SD 10y 7mo, range 24–76y) with a diagnosis of unilateral (n=81) or bilateral (n=68) spastic CP responded. Fifty‐two per cent of all participants reported deterioration in walking function since debut of walking, compared with 39% 7 years previously. In participants with bilateral CP, 71% reported deteriorated walking, compared with 37% of participants with unilateral CP. Participants with deteriorated walking function had greater pain frequency, pain intensity, impact of pain on daily activities, and physical fatigue and reduced balance. The number of people reporting overall mobility problems was almost double compared with 7 years previously. Interpretation  The main finding was an increased prevalence of deteriorated walking, significantly associated with bilateral spastic CP, pain, fatigue, and reduced balance. Rehabilitation programmes addressing these areas are needed.

Exoskeleton training was generally safe and feasible in a heterogeneous sample of persons with SCI. Results indicate potential benefits on gait function and balance.

Training seemed not to provoke new pain. Spasticity decreased after a single training session. SCIM III and quality of life increased longitudinally for subsets of participants.

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Objective:To identify predictors and the optimal time point for the early prediction of the presence and severity of spasticity in the upper limb 12 months poststroke.Methods:In total, 117 patients in the Gothenburg area who had experienced a stroke for the first time and with documented arm paresis day 3 poststroke were consecutively included. Assessments were made at admission and at 3 and 10 days, 4 weeks, and 12 months poststroke. Upper limb spasticity in elbow flexion/extension and wrist flexion/extension was assessed with the modified Ashworth Scale (MAS). Any spasticity was regarded as MAS ≥1, and severe spasticity was regarded as MAS ≥2 in any of the muscles. Sensorimotor function, sensation, pain, and joint range of motion in the upper limb were assessed with the Fugl-Meyer assessment scale, and, together with demographic and diagnostic information, were included in both univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis models. Seventy-six patients were included in the logistic regression analysis.Results:Sensorimotor function was the most important predictor both for any and severe spasticity 12 months poststroke. In addition, spasticity 4 weeks poststroke was a significant predictor for severe spasticity. The best prediction model for any spasticity was observed 10 days poststroke (85% sensitivity, 90% specificity). The best prediction model for severe spasticity was observed 4 weeks poststroke (91% sensitivity, 92% specificity).Conclusions:Reduced sensorimotor function was the most important predictor both for any and severe spasticity, and spasticity could be predicted with high sensitivity and specificity 10 days poststroke.

Background. There is little focus on adults with cerebral palsy (CP) in research and health care and insufficient knowledge on how to identify and manage pain in this population.J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f 2 Objectives. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine whether pain prevalence in adults with CP is high and to explore variations in pain prevalence of subgroups, pain locations, pain severity and pain interference. Methods. Potential datasets were identified by experts in the field and literature searches in Embase, MEDLINE, and Cochrane, from January 2000 to October 2016. Included studies had a representative sample of ≥ 25 adults with CP and ≥ 1 pain outcomes. Methodological quality assessment, pain prevalence estimates and logistic regression models for subgroup effects on pain prevalence were conducted. Results. In total, 17 eligible studies were identified from 4584 publications. A meta-analysis was performed with individual participant data from 15 studies totalling 1243 participants (mean [SD] age 34.3 [12.6] years). Overall mean pain prevalence was 70% (95% CI 62-78).Women were more likely to have pain than men (P<0.001). The odds of pain was increased in adults with gross motor function level II (odds ratio [OR] 1.92, 95% CI 1.22-3.12) and IV (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.03-4.29). Participants with pain reported pain predominantly in the legs (76%, 95% CI 66-84), and mean pain severity was 3.7/10 (95% CI 2.7-4.7) and pain interference 3.5/10 (95% CI 2.5-4.5).Conclusions. This meta-analysis provides the first reliable pain prevalence estimate in a large international sample of adults with CP. The high prevalence of pain, 70%, suggests that adults with CP should be routinely screened for pain and treated accordingly. The range of measurement instruments used by the included studies emphasizes using common outcome measures specific to pain internationally.

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Ambulatory individuals have a high risk of falling and of fall-related injuries. Fall history, fear of falling and walking speed could predict recurrent falls and injurious falls. Further studies with larger samples are needed to validate these findings. [Jørgensen V, Butler Forslund E, Opheim A, Franzén E, Wahman K, Hultling C, Seiger Å, Ståhle A, Stanghelle JK, Roaldsen KS (2017) Falls and fear of falling predict future falls and related injuries in ambulatory individuals with spinal cord injury: a longitudinal observational study. Journal of Physiotherapy 63: 108-113].