30-Second Takeaway
- Persistent pain after “mild” TBI is common for at least 12 months and poorly linked to CT findings or follow-up care.
- Year-long, remotely supervised walking programs in MS look feasible and safe, with signals for neuroprotection and function.
- TWIST score predicts independent walking after stroke with good discrimination but systematically overestimates recovery probabilities.
- Short, intensive post-COVID and oncology rehab yields meaningful symptom and function gains but limited objective strength or HRQoL change.
- Remote and clinic-feasible strength/balance assessments can reliably stratify neuromuscular disease and fall risk in older adults.
Week ending February 28, 2026
Rehab-relevant updates in post-mTBI pain, neurorehab dosing, prognostication, and remote / geriatric assessment
Persistent pain and interference are common for at least 12 months after mild TBI
In this TRACK-TBI analysis, 710 adults with mTBI were compared with 196 healthy controls over 12 months using PROMIS Pain Intensity and Interference scales. Over 80% of mTBI patients reported pain intensity or interference at 2 weeks, and elevations versus controls persisted at all time points. Both CT-positive and CT-negative participants showed similarly elevated pain and interference, with adjusted mean differences still present at 12 months. Fewer than 20% received any TBI follow-up care after discharge, despite persistent symptoms. These findings support routine, longitudinal screening and proactive pain management even after apparently “mild” TBI without surgical lesions.
Year-long remote aerobic walking in MS is feasible, safe, and shows neurocognitive benefits
This early-stage trial tested two doses of a 12-month, remotely delivered aerobic walking program in 25 fully ambulatory adults with MS and slowed processing speed. The program was feasible from process and resource perspectives, with high adherence and no major safety signal across exercise prescriptions. The higher-dose prescription proved too demanding regarding duration and intensity, suggesting upper tolerability limits in this population. Pooling both doses, 12 months of training was associated with preserved thalamic volume and small-to-moderate gains in processing speed, walking endurance, and aerobic fitness.
TWIST score predicts walking independence after stroke but consistently overestimates recovery
This multicenter cohort externally validated the TWIST score in 145 Japanese adults unable to walk independently one week after stroke. Walking independence was achieved by 60.7% at 9 weeks and 72.4% at 26 weeks post-stroke. Discrimination was good across time points, with c-statistics above 0.75 and Nagelkerke R² indicating moderate explained variance. Calibration showed systematic over-prediction at all time points, so higher and lower TWIST strata both appeared overly optimistic over time.
References
Numbered in order of appearance. Click any reference to view details.
Additional Reads
Optional additional studies from this edition.