Objective: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of anxiety and depression among Jordanian lower limb amputees with different clinical characteristics and sociodemographic data (gender, marital status, social support, income, type and level of amputation, and occupation). Methods: Participants were 56 patients with unilateral lower limb amputation with mean duration (8.4 ± 5.75 years). They were recruited from inpatient and outpatient clinics of Jordan University hospital, Royal Farah Rehabilitation Center, and Al-basheer hospital in Amman, Jordan. Participants responded to a questionnaire that included a battery of questions requesting brief information about sociodemographic variables and characteristics of amputation. The level of depression and anxiety in each participating patient was assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results:The prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms were 37% and 20%, respectively. Factors associated with high prevalence of psychological symptoms included female gender, lack of social support, unemployment, traumatic amputation, shorter time since amputation, and amputation below the knee. These fi ndings were confi rmed by a signifi cant reduction of anxiety and depression scores in patients who received social support, patients with amputation due to disease, and patients with amputation above the knee. Presence of pain and use of prosthesis had no effect on the prevalence. Conclusions:The fi ndings of the present study highlight the high incidence of psychiatric disability and depression in amputees; it also showed the importance of sociodemographic factors in psychological adjustment to amputation. It is suggested that psychiatric evaluation and adequate rehabilitation should form a part of their overall management.

Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) is a neurorehabilitation technique designed to improve upper extremity motor functions after stroke. This review aimed to investigate evidence of the effect of CIMT on upper extremity in stroke patients and to identify optimal methods to apply CIMT. Four databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINHAL, and PEDro) and reference lists of relevant articles and reviews were searched. Randomized clinical trials that studied the effect of CIMT on upper extremity outcomes in stroke patients compared with other rehabilitative techniques, usual care, or no intervention were included. Methodological quality was assessed using the PEDro score. The following data were extracted for each trial: patients' characteristics, sample size, eligibility criteria, protocols of CIMT and control groups, outcome measurements, and the PEDro score. A total of 38 trials were identified according to the inclusion criteria. The trials included were heterogeneous in CIMT protocols, time since stroke, and duration and frequency of treatment. The pooled meta-analysis of 36 trials found a heterogeneous significant effect of CIMT on upper extremity. There was no significant effect of CIMT at different durations of follow-up. The majority of included articles did not fulfill powered sample size and quality criteria. The effect of CIMT changed in terms of sample size and quality features of the articles included. These meta-analysis findings indicate that evidence for the superiority of CIMT in comparison with other rehabilitative interventions is weak. Information on the optimal dose of CIMT and optimal time to start CIMT is still limited.

Background: Different clinical profiles of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) have been reported in the literature. The aim of this investigation was to describe the clinical patterns of KOA in an ethnically distinct and homogenous population that has not been widely reported. Patients with KOA were seen in outpatient rehabilitation and orthopedic clinic of Jordan University Hospital (JUH), to determine any possible association between age, BMI, radiographic severity, and pain severity.Methods: Patients diagnosed with KOA attending an outpatient rehabilitation clinic at JUH were studied to describe their clinical characteristics. They were included based on criteria developed by the American College of Rheumatology. Detailed histories, clinical examinations and X-rays, and anthropometric data were obtained. Data analysis focused on descriptive statistics and correlations among demographic and clinical characteristics.Results: The study included 214 patients with a mean age of 55.3 years (range = 30-84 years). The mean BMI was 29.5± 5.6. We found a significant moderate positive correlation between age and radiographic severity of KOA (0.435; p <. 001) and pain severity (0.383; p. <. 001). There was also a significant weak positive correlation between BMI, radiographic severity of KOA (0.242, p <. 05), and pain severity (0.266, p. <. 01).Conclusions: We concluded that in this hospital-based cohort study in Jordan, the clinical pattern of KOA is comparable to Western cultures. However, the combination of BMI and mechanical loading during everyday activities that include different religious and cultural habits and may help explain the high level of radiographic severity in our sample.

Physiotherapy interventions can be a safe and beneficial option for spasticity in people with multiple sclerosis. No firm conclusion can be drawn on overall spasticity. Further researches in different spasticity aspects are needed.

The object of this study was to detect any possible relation between the current gross motor function score for cerebral palsy children and their physical growth parameters. We measured 71 children with spastic cerebral palsy (35 diplegic, 25 quadriplegic and 11 hemiplegic) and a control group of 80 normal children. Measures taken for cerebral palsy and normal children included stature, weight, head circumference and mid upper-arm circumference, and, additionally for the cerebral palsied children, duration of the disease, birth weight, presence or absence of orofacial dysfunction, distribution of paralysis and degree of spasticity. Motor abilities were measured using the Gross Motor Function Measure. Results showed a significant decrease in the stature, current weight, head circumference and mid upper-arm circumference of both sexes of the quadriplegic children, and significant decreases in the current weight of the diplegic girls and the head circumference of the hemiplegic girls. There were also significant decreases in all scores of the quadriplegic children compared to the diplegic and hemiplegic children. Diplegic children had significantly decreased standing, walking and running, and total scores, compared to the hemiplegic children. Total score at age of testing was independently predicted by the duration of the disease, distribution of paralysis, presence or absence of orofacial dysfunction, spasticity index and the current body weight. Our findings indicate that in spastic cerebral palsy the physical growth parameters were markedly decreased in the quadriplegic form compared to other forms. Only current body weight, from the growth parameters, in addition to other relevant clinical data, can be considered predictors of the current gross motor abilities of those children.

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To examine the psychometric properties of a short form TSK-AV in Arabic-speaking patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP). One hundred one CLBP patients recruited from Jordan University Hospital provided demographic information and completed the TSK-AV full version and measures of pain severity and disability. Explorative factor analysis was used to determine whether a generally accepted 2-factor model consisting of fewer TSK items applies to the TSK-AV and exhibits acceptable psychometric properties. A 2-factor model provided an adequate-to-good fit to our data, explaining 46.54% of the variance. Factor 1 (labeled as “activity avoidance”) comprised items 1, 2, 7, 9, 14, 15, and 17. Factor 2 was labeled as “somatic focus” and comprised items 3, 6, 11, and 13. The 11-item TSK-AV comprised of the 2 factors (TSK-AV-11) as well as its subscales all remained independent significant (P < .001) predictors of pain disability in Jordanian patients with CLBP after accounting for factors such as age, gender, pain duration, and pain severity. The short, 11-item TSK-AV (TSK-AV-11) appears to be an ideal clinical and research tool for measuring fear of movement/re (injury) in Arabic-speaking patients.