Objective: We investigated the relationship between external rotation range of motion (ROM) 5 weeks after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) and complication of subscapularis (SSC) tears following 12 months of treatment.

Method: Ninety-five shoulders in 92 patients who underwent ARCR were included. Passive ROM was examined preoperatively, 5 weeks, and 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. The presence or absence of re-tear was examined for external rotation of 25° or more (H group) and 20° or less (L group) 5 weeks after surgery, with (+group) or without (−group) SSC tear. Shoulder internal rotation of hand-behind-back movement above or below the first lumbar vertebra was selected as the preoperative factors, and evaluated for groups H and L 5 weeks after surgery.

Results: ROM was greater in the H group up to 12 months after surgery (p<0.05). Regardless of SSC tear, re-tear was more common in the H group (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Regardless of SSC tear, limiting external rotation ROM to 20° 5 weeks after surgery may be useful in preventing re-tear. When preoperative internal rotation was performed at or above the first lumbar vertebra, there was a high probability that external rotation ROM would be 25°or more 5 weeks after surgery, suggesting the need to carefully proceed with external rotation ROM training in the early postoperative period.

Objective: To clarify the current situation regarding psychological safety in the workplace surrounding young physical therapists and its relationship with work engagement and stress, and to examine the factors that influence psychological safety.

Methods: This study was a mixed study consisting of a quantitative and qualitative survey. First, a questionnaire survey was administered to 116 physical therapists with less than 5 years of experience. Next, 29 of the physical therapists who participated in the questionnaire survey were interviewed.

Results: The questionnaire survey showed a correlation between psychological safety and work engagement and stress. The interview survey revealed that the categories of “mission and vision,” “work content and system,” “relationships with others,” “personal characteristics,” and “empathy” were considered to have an influence on the formation of a workplace culture based on psychological safety.

Conclusion: The psychological safety of young physical therapists was related to their work engagement and stress, suggesting factors that influence the psychological safety of young physical therapists.

Objective: As the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) in medical research paper writing expands, ethical concerns have become raised. This study aims to clarify the current status of ethical guidelines for GAI use in Japanese journals of physical therapy and examine the necessity of their establishment.

Methods: We investigated the submission and writing guidelines of 65 journals, including one journal from the Japan Physical Therapy Association, 19 journals from academic societies and research groups, and 45 journals from local physical therapist associations, to analyze whether they included ethical guidelines related to GAI.

Results: Among the 60 journals ultimately analyzed, no ethical guidelines addressing GAI were found. Additionally, no regulations regarding GAI were included in any revised editions published after November 2022.

Conclusion: While international academic journals have established ethical guidelines for GAI use, Japanese journals of physical therapy have not yet sufficiently addressed this issue. The findings of this study suggest the necessity of examining ethical guidelines for GAI use in this field, highlighting the need for future action in the formulation of appropriate submission guidelines and writing guidelines.

Objective: To evaluate the probability of Barthel Index (BI) deterioration through decision curve analysis (DCA) and to examine the net benefit (NB) associated with the frequency of home-based rehabilitation (home rehab) frequency.

Methods: A regression model was developed to predict BI deterioration over 6 months based on age, sex, Charlson Comorbidity Index, Short Physical Performance Battery score, and initial BI score using data from 104 elderly patients receiving home rehab. The predictive accuracy of the model was evaluated using area under the curve (AUC). The NB of once-weekly versus twice-weekly home rehab was calculated using DCA.

Results: The predictive model achieved an AUC of 0.86. DCA showed that for patients with a BI deterioration probability of ≥61% and ≥81%, twice-weekly home rehab increased NB by 31.1% and 48.0%, respectively.

Conclusion: Patients with a higher probability of BI deterioration may derive greater NB from receiving multiple weekly home rehab sessions.