This review highlights the validated goniometer apps that physiatrists and other health care practitioners can use with confidence in research and clinical practice. We found 12 apps corresponding to these criteria, but there is a need for validation studies on available or new apps focused on goniometric measurement in dynamic conditions, eg, during gait or when performing therapeutic exercises.

The aim of this review is to offer dietary advice for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and neurogenic bowel dysfunction. With this in mind, we consider health conditions that are dependent on the level of lesion including skeletal muscle atrophy, autonomic dysreflexia and neurogenic bladder. In addition, SCI is often associated with a sedentary lifestyle, which increases risk for osteoporosis and diseases associated with chronic low-grade inflammation, including cardiovascular and chronic kidney diseases. The Mediterranean diet, along with exercise and dietary supplements, has been suggested as an anti-inflammatory intervention in individuals with SCI. However, individuals with chronic SCI have a daily intake of whole fruit, vegetables and whole grains lower than the recommended dietary allowance for the general population. Some studies have reported an increase in neurogenic bowel dysfunction symptoms after high fiber intake; therefore, this finding could explain the low consumption of plant foods. Low consumption of fibre induces dysbiosis, which is associated with both WJG https://www.wjgnet.com

The interest and competitiveness in sports for persons with disabilities has increased significantly in the recent years, creating a demand for technological tools supporting practice. Wearable sensors offer non-invasive, portable and overall convenient ways to monitor sports practice. This systematic review aims at providing current evidence on the application of wearable sensors in sports for persons with disability. A search for articles published in English before May 2020 was performed on Scopus, Web-Of-Science, PubMed and EBSCO databases, searching titles, abstracts and keywords with a search string involving terms regarding wearable sensors, sports and disability. After full paper screening, 39 studies were included. Inertial and EMG sensors were the most commonly adopted wearable technologies, while wheelchair sports were the most investigated. Four main target applications of wearable sensors relevant to sports for people with disability were identified and discussed: athlete classification, injury prevention, performance characterization for training optimization and equipment customization. The collected evidence provides an overview on the application of wearable sensors in sports for persons with disability, providing useful indication for researchers, coaches and trainers. Several gaps in the different target applications are highlighted altogether with recommendation on future directions.

Veterans with disability represent a big burden worldwide and often require long-term rehabilitation. Unhealthy dietary and lifestyle habits, including smoke and alcohol abuse, are common in veterans. In the context of integrative medicine approaches, the "complementary and alternative medicine" has been suggested for the management of chronic diseases. However, the potential risk of interaction between herbal products, dietary supplements and drugs must be considered in veterans. The Mediterranean diet has been suggested as a natural, non-pharmacological nutraceutical for healthy ageing. Although there is a broad consensus on the positive effect of plant foods consumption, the presence of glucosinolates, flavonoids and furanocoumarins in some plant foods and beverages must be taken into consideration owing to their potential interfering with drugs metabolism and bioavailability. Albeit seasonality could ensure the maintenance of the single dose of phytochemical below that at which adverse effects in some individuals genetically predisposed or unpleasant drug interactions in diseased subjects can occur, a personalized nutrition is recommended in veterans who are under treatment for comorbidities. Furthermore, sports practice can lead veterans with motor disabilities and mental impairments to excel in some disciplines, giving rise to the phenomenon of the Paralympics and the development of "recreational therapy". Moreover, outdoor lifestyle, through vitamin D synthesis, and conviviality, improving socialization, could account for the Mediterranean lifestyle health benefits. In this work, we propose for veterans a Mediterranean Pyramid, which could be the basis for integrative medicine for veterans with disabilities, patient-centered approaches and interprofessional (including physical medicine and rehabilitation clinicians, pharmacists and nutritionists) interventions.

Volumetric muscle loss (VML) is the massive wasting of skeletal muscle tissue due to traumatic events or surgical ablation. This pathological condition exceeds the physiological healing process carried out by the muscle itself, which owns remarkable capacity to restore damages but only when limited in dimensions. Upon VML occurring, the affected area is severely compromised, heavily influencing the affected a person’s quality of life. Overall, this condition is often associated with chronic disability, which makes the return to duty of highly specialized professional figures (e.g., military personnel or athletes) almost impossible. The actual treatment for VML is based on surgical conservative treatment followed by physical exercise; nevertheless, the results, in terms of either lost mass and/or functionality recovery, are still poor. On the other hand, the efforts of the scientific community are focusing on reconstructive therapy aiming at muscular tissue void volume replenishment by exploiting biomimetic matrix or artificial tissue implantation. Reconstructing strategies represent a valid option to build new muscular tissue not only to recover damaged muscles, but also to better socket prosthesis in terms of anchorage surfaces and reinnervation substrates for reconstructed mass.