From the Editor

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to Volume 11, Issue 2 of the Journal of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine (JPRM) featuring the Calendar of Events and manuscripts that enhance the pediatric rehabilitation literature. Special thanks to JPRM’s dedicated statistician Rick Tivis, MPH Biostatistics and our large number of peer reviewers. Also, thanks to Janet Neufeld, RN, MA, Dr. Jacob Neufeld’s mother, for her hours of proof-reading and editing manuscripts.

Starting off this issue, Brigitte Wirth and her team present a systematic review on quantifiable physical risk factors for non-specific adolescent low back pain. There is consensus in the literature that psychosocial factors are associated with low back pain in adolescents, although recent results suggest that physical factors might have been underestimated. This systematic review reveals that reduced back and abdominal muscle endurance seems to be associated with low back pain in adolescence.

Next, SunHye Jung and his team look at Xbox Kinect and physical function in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. In this case series, after training, there was improvement of scores in Selective Motor Control, Pediatric Balance Scale, Timed Up and Go, Functional Mobility Scale and 6-meter walk test for gait. Using virtual reality for rehabilitation is appealing and provides tasks that same age peers may use for activities as well.

The next article by Monique Ridosh and colleagues reports on a new and simple 3 item measure that can provide information regarding family quality of life. This measure can be used as a global appraisal of the domains of life important to the family, different from family functioning, which explains how families operate or behave.

Next is Katherine van Hulst’s Eating and Drinking Ability Classification System (EDACS).  EDACS can be used in partnership with parents to support clear communication in reference to safety and efficiency about eating and drinking, even when the speech therapist is not familiar with a particular child. Also, EDACS can be added to other functional classifications regarding children with cerebral palsy.

When caring for children and adolescents with a traumatic brain injury, the emotional impact on the team of caretakers, the child, his/her family and friends is readily apparent. In addition to the emotional impact following a child’s devastating injury, there are typically rewards in their improvement and recovery. However, what toll does this take on the caregivers and the care receivers? What is the “new normal”? Marghalara Rashid explains that “our study contributes rigorous qualitative data about the care provider’s perspective, first hand. The study adds to the existing literature themes that are fundamental for understanding challenges that physicians and their patients face while providing care.”

The final article by Antonio De Tanti and colleagues reports the case of a child with a rare disease, the KCNQ2-related channelopathy. They describe the child’s visual impairment, rehabilitative training and the outcome of the medical intervention provided in this original contribution. The positive results achieved with the training, which remained at one year follow-up, are an important clinical indication for those who are caring for children with this disease.

The articles in this issue remind me of the work of one of my Mayo Clinic mentors, pediatric surgeon, Christopher Moir, M.D. Over several decades, Dr. Moir regularly volunteered, providing surgery to pediatric patients in underserved countries. Most recently, his efforts have focused on training surgeons in Africa to provide sustainable surgical interventions for pediatric patients in need.

A core mission of the journal is to network and to collaborate globally by disseminating peer reviewed literature in order to help various pediatric and adolescent populations with physical challenges and complex medical needs. In addition to founding JPRM, Jacob Neufeld, M.D. worked to stamp out hunger locally and eradicate polio in developing countries in collaboration with Rotary International, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Bill Gates Foundation. Providing lasting knowledge to those treating pediatric populations worldwide is critical for sustainable medical care, as exemplified by both Dr. Moir and Dr. Neufeld’s dedication and work.

Until the next issue, best wishes from all of us at the journal.

Sincerely yours,

Elaine L Pico, MD, MA Education

FAAP, FAAPM & R

Editor-in-Chief