PTJ: Journal of APTA

Psychological Mediators in Chronic Spinal Pain After Fully Remote Digital Rehabilitation: A Real-World, Large-Sample Study ABSTRACTImportance. Psychological factors are associated with chronic spinal pain, yet their mediating role in postrehabilitation recovery remains poorly u

📱Changes in fear-avoidance, depression, and anxiety mediate pain recovery after fully-remote digital rehabilitation for chronic spinal pain.

Findings underscore the importance of addressing psychological factors in digital care.

academic.oup.com/ptj/advance-...

🗺️ This is an excellent road map for understanding what program factors can assist with adoption and sustainable integration of high-intensity rehabilitation into clinical practice in SNFs.

🧰 Now, this article provides a comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation of a SNF high-intensity rehabilitation program across implementation, adoption, process, and clinician knowledge and self-efficacy outcomes.

From theory to practice: A mixed-method evaluation of a program to implement high-intensity rehabilitation in skilled nursing facilities AbstractImportance. Implementing evidence-based dosing of rehabilitation in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) is essential to improve functional outcomes i

🔥 High-intensity rehabilitation in #SkilledNursingFacilities is feasible and effective.

academic.oup.com/ptj/article-...

Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy in Acute Care: Association of Timing and Frequency With 30-Day Readmission After Ischemic Stroke ABSTRACTImportance. Reducing 30-day hospital readmission rates after ischemic stroke is a national priority, yet optimal rehabilitation service delivery st

🏥 🧠 In this study of over 1500 patients hospitalized after #stroke, early physical therapist treatment and frequent occupational therapy sessions were associated with reduced 30-day #readmission risk for patients discharged home.

academic.oup.com/ptj/article-...

Predictors of Functional Recovery in Individuals Exposed to Late-Stage Exercise Programs After Total Knee Replacement: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial ABSTRACTImportance. Total knee replacement (TKR) is common for advanced cartilage degeneration. Often, functional limitations persist, and late-stage exerc

🦵 For patients receiving treatment over 6 months after #TotalKnee replacement, this study identified factors associated with functional recovery:

academic.oup.com/ptj/article/...

Proposed solutions from this study set the stage for future implementation research so that depression screening becomes equivalent to red flag screening. 🚨

Capacity and cultural challenges contribute to indirect #depression screening practices for people with #LowBackPain in musculoskeletal triage.

academic.oup.com/ptj/article/...

PTJ Researcher Interviews: What is the most important research question we need to answer in the next decade to move our profession forward? | PTJ: Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal ❓ We asked PT researchers: What is the single most question we need to answer in the next decade to move our profession forward? Here's what they had to say: Joshua Johnson Dawn Magnusson Daniel You...

❓ We asked PT researchers at #APTACSM: What is the single most question we need to answer in the next decade to move our profession forward?

Here's what they had to say:

www.linkedin.com/posts/ptjour...

#PhysioSky #PTSky #Research

🤝 Meet members of our #PTJournal editorial team!

This week at #APTACSM our student lead Priscilla Meza from @uwrehabmed.bsky.social interviewed researchers about their advice for students and their hopes for the future of #PTresearch.

Stay tuned to hear more and thanks to our interviewees!

How Peer Review Actually Works (And Why You Should Care) ????️ GUESTS:Dawn Magnusson & Rachel Prusynski – PTJ Editorial Team???? EPISODE SUMMARY:Is peer review really that scary? This special CSM 2026 preview pulls back …

🎙️ Our Associate Editors recorded a recent episode of #PTPintcast
to discuss our upcoming #APTACSM session "Behind the Red Ink: Demystifying Peer Review and Empowering Emerging Scholars" 🖋️

Check out the episode and join us on Friday at 10:30 AM!
www.ptpintcast.com/how-peer-rev...

PTJ at APTA Combined Sections Meeting The American Physical Therapy Association's Combined Sections Meeting begins February 12th in Anaheim, California. The Editorial Board of PTJ: Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal, the official j...

🔜 We're just a week out from #APTACSM - check out our list of #PTResearch presentations across a diverse set of topics from our editorial team:
www.linkedin.com/pulse/ptj-ap...

More Frequent Empathic Communication by Physical Therapists Is Associated With Improved Outcomes for Low-Impact Chronic Pain AbstractImportance. Empathic communication is recommended in chronic pain management, yet few studies have examined the role of provider communication on t

🗣️ #Empathy Matters: this study found that more frequent empathic communication from #PhysicalTherapists is associated with lower patient-reported pain intensity and interference, along with larger and more rapid decreases in pain intensity over time: academic.oup.com/ptj/article/...

PTJ at APTA Combined Sections Meeting The American Physical Therapy Association's Combined Sections Meeting begins February 12th in Anaheim, California. The Editorial Board of PTJ: Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal, the official j...

🗓️Put #PTJournal on your #APTACSM dance card! A complete list of platform and education sessions from our editorial board members can be found here:

www.linkedin.com/pulse/ptj-ap...

Defining and Categorizing Low-Value Physical Therapy Referral Waste in Acute Care: An Administrative Case Report AbstractImportance. Hospitals can follow the steps outlined in this administrative case report to identify and address potential overutilization waste.Obje

🏥 Acute care PT can optimize patient discharge, but overutilization leads to healthcare waste. This case report shows how tracking low-value referrals can redirect resources to where they are needed most.

academic.oup.com/ptj/article/...

#PhysicalTherapy #PatientCare #Efficiency

The Relationship Between Postural Control and Fundamental Movement Skills in Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder, Mild Cerebral Palsy, and Typical Development AbstractImportance. Impaired fundamental movement skills are prevalent among children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and mild cerebral pals

New in #PTJournal: a study of 127 children aimed to determine the extent to which postural control contributes to fundamental movement skill performance in children with developmental coordination disorder, mild #CerebralPalsy, and with typical development. academic.oup.com/ptj/advance-...

American Physical Therapy Association Clinical Practice Guideline Facilitated Shared Decision Making for Patients With Low Back Pain: Feasibility and Acceptability in Outpatient Physical Therapy ABSTRACTImportance. The feasibility and acceptability of integrating shared decision making (SDM) for patients receiving physical therapy for low back pain

🤝 This pilot feasibility study explored integrating shared decision making for intervention selection in patients receiving physical therapy for low back pain:

academic.oup.com/ptj/advance-...

Trends in Rehabilitation Insurance Benefit Exhaustion Among Older Adults in the United States and Associations With Racial Identity ABSTRACTImportance. Rehabilitation supports independence for older adults with disability, but access is often unequal. One potential driver is insurance c

🛑 In 2022, nearly 1.7 million older adults—about 1 in 4 rehab users—had to stop therapy because insurance ran out. Black older adults were disproportionately affected, and #inequities have widened over time.

academic.oup.com/ptj/advance-...

Understanding Patient and Care Partner Experiences With Rehabilitation After Hospitalization for Advanced Heart Failure: “I Was Thinking I’d Just Be Like I Was Before I Got This” AbstractImportance. Advanced Heart failure (HF) is a life-limiting condition that frequently necessitates hospitalization and subsequent post-acute rehabil

🫀 Patients and care partners share their experiences with rehabilitation after hospitalization for advanced #HeartFailure in this new qualitative study now out in #PTJournal:

academic.oup.com/ptj/advance-...

Association Between Timing of Out-of-Bed Mobilization and Functional Outcomes at Intensive Care Unit Discharge in Patients With COVID-19: An Analysis of Potential Clinical Reference Points ABSTRACTImportance. In patients who are critically ill, functional dependence and muscle weakness may be influenced by side effects related to the timing o

🏥 🫁 In this study of patients with #COVID19 in admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, authors examined relationships between the timing of initiating out-of-bed mobilization and relationships between developing functional dependence and muscle weakness. #ICURehab

academic.oup.com/ptj/advance-...

Physical Therapist Interventions for People with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Across Disease Stages: A Systematic Review of Efficacy AbstractImportance. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease causing declines in muscular strength that affect respir

📚 A new systematic review in #PTJournal found that 🏋️‍♀️ multicomponent exercise & 🫁 breathing therapies may help people with ALS in early stages. More high-quality research is needed across all stages. #ALS #PhysicalTherapy #RehabResearch

academic.oup.com/ptj/advance-...

We are grateful to those that helped the #PTJournal team achieve our goal to publish innovative and highly relevant content for both clinicians and scientists, with the expressed purpose of improving patient care.

#PhysioSky #PTSky

Sending many thanks to all the researchers, authors, podcast listeners, reviewers, editorial board members, peer review lab attendees, and especially our readers who engaged with us in 2025!

Pneumothorax After Dry Needling of Intrascapular Muscles Using a Rib Bracketing Technique: Insights From the Clinician, Patient, and Clinical Expert | PTJ: Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journa... 🎉 To celebrate #NYE, 🪩 here are the top 5️⃣ most popular articles on #LinkedIn from PTJ: Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal in 2025: 🥇 Case report on pneumothorax after #DryNeedling from Paul ...

🎆Happy new year! Don't miss🏅our top 5 most popular articles on LinkedIn.

www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

#NYE

🎮 A new article in #PTJournal brings virtual reality games and 360-degree treadmills to chronic stroke rehab: 🧠
academic.oup.com/ptj/article/...

Podcast | PTJ Author Interview: Development and Validation of the PT-PENCIL Together we are building a community that advances the profession of physical therapy to improve the health of society.

The PT-PENCIL tool identifies which patients are most likely to benefit from daily physical therapy to be discharged home from the hospital.

Learn more:

www.apta.org/apta-and-you...

Podcast | PTJ Author Interview: Development and Validation of the PT-PENCIL Together we are building a community that advances the profession of physical therapy to improve the health of society.

🏥 #AcuteCare PTs: this podcast is for you!

💬 We chat with authors of recently published #PTJournal article on the development and validation of the Physical Therapy Frequency Clinical Decision Support Tool, aka PT-PENCIL. ✏️

Does Treating Low Back Pain With Therapeutic Exercise Reduce the Risk of Subsequent Lower Extremity Injury? A Population-Level Cohort Analysis AbstractImportance. The trunk and lower extremities are the most common locations for injury in the military, but they are managed as isolated regions. Thi

A new study of patients with #LowBackPain in the Military Health System found that treatment with therapeutic exercise lowered the risk of subsequent lower extremity injury:

academic.oup.com/ptj/article/...

Mostly Mothers, Many Others: Comparing Caregiver Attendance and Missed Treatment Hours in Pediatric Physical Therapy for Children With Cerebral Palsy AbstractImportance. Cerebral palsy is a prevalent childhood motor disability which necessitates frequent outpatient physical therapy. Medical appointments

👨‍👦 Mothers are the primary caregiver attending physical therapy visits for their children with #CerebralPalsy. 👩‍🍼 Learn more about which factors were associated with missed physical therapy visits in this new study in #PTJournal:

academic.oup.com/ptj/advance-...

Pain Catastrophizing Beliefs and Neuropathic Symptoms Are Associated With a Poorer Long-Term Recovery in Chronic Plantar Heel Pain: A Cohort Study AbstractImportance. Chronic plantar heel pain is common and often recalcitrant yet understanding of modifiable risk factors that influence its trajectory o

What measures are important in explaining why chronic plantar heel pain is slow to resolve?
When neuropathic symptoms (painDETECT) and negative pain beliefs (pain catastrophizing) worsen over time, the trajectory of recovery for CPHP is poorer.
academic.oup.com/ptj/advance-...