Vol. 3 No. 1 (2021)

Prof. Ph.D. Giovanni Di Trapani
Dott. Davide Morra

In this issue we publish a total of 10 articles concerning the different disciplinary areas of rehabilitation, technical health, and prevention. Regarding the area of Rehabilitation, there are six papers. Supplizi Marco, Barassi Giovanni, Visciano Christian Pasquale, Zincani Valentina, Di Iulio Antonella, Marangi Matteo, Marrone Andrea Maria, Di Iorio Angelo, in their experi-mental study aiming to evaluate and validate the effectiveness of the application method proposed in the use of “focused mechanical vibrations” for the treatment of muscle spasticity.

In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, strict containment measures were put in place in our country to safeguard, first and foremost, the vulnerable sections of the population, includ-ing people suffering from psychiatric disorders. Nevertheless, most of the activities of Mental Health Centres, territorial rehabilitation, coun-selling sessions, help and psycho-education ac-tivities, training in social skills, workshops, as well as family support, monitoring and network-ing activities with rehabilitation centre operators and users, have been reorganized in another mo-dality, namely the so-called ‘distance modality’.

Although the undisputed and essential value of human contact and face-to-face relationship, the work of Cimino Maurizio, Semisa Domenico shows the importance, for the Mental Health Services, of using communication modalities, such as the current virtual alternatives that, af-ter overcoming the initial difficulties, have now been appreciated, further implemented and wide-ly used for their effectiveness, so much so that it is thought that they can eventually be placed side by side with the traditional modalities.The article authored by Ripari Patrizio, Di Gia-cinto Gabriella, di Sante Gianluca and Barassi Giovanni looks at the factors that influence physical activity levels and, in turn, inform inter-ventions to minimize inactivity. The aim of this paper is to review the scientific literature to con-sider physical activity levels in neurosensory im-pairment, looking at how physical activity levels have been measured and examining the factors reported to influence sports physician recom-mendations. An observational analytical study was conducted using a web-based questionnaire, carried out by Collebrusco Luca, Gambacorta Andrea, Visciano Gennaro, the paper was conducted considering demographic information, attitudes and skills in reference to Evidence Based Practice (EBP) to be applied in daily clinical practice. Prosperi Loris, Barassi Giovanni, Supplizi Mar-co, Giancola Alessandra, Di Matteo Celeste, Manca Mara, Gallo Laura, Di Iorio Angelo eval-uated the efficacy of treatment with Kinesiologic Lymphatic Taping (LKT) or Intermittent Pneu-matic Compression (IPC) therapy on a homoge-neous group of 40 women suffering from stage 2 primary lymphedema of the lower limbs, com-paring the two methods. Patients were equally and randomly divided into group A undergoing LKT and group B undergoing IPC. All patients were assessed by electrical bioimpedance (anal-ysis of total body water and extracellular water) and circumferential measurement of the lower limbs by means of a measuring tape, both before and after the protocol (T0 and T1). Both treat-ment groups showed an improvement in lymph-oedema, with a marked reduction in lower limb volume and improved body water balance. The article ‘Ultrasonography in physiotherapy and rehabilitation’ from Barassi Giovanni, Guerri Sergio, Tavani Roberta, Ricucci Giampiero, De Luca Giorgia, Rabini Alessia, Colombo Antonio, Di Iorio Angelo discusses the use of ultrasound (US) imaging and the role of the physiotherapist in detecting localized changes, particularly in tendon stiffness due to partial and full thickness tendon tears. Image intensity information is less sensitive to identify changes in load transmission resulting from partial-thickness tears initiated on the side of the joint. Concerning the Technical Health area, we pub-lish the work of Rossetti Filippo analyzing the figure of the Head of Health Professions and, specifically, that of the technical-diagnostic area, in the context of complex health systems such as Health Authorities and Hospitals. Barone Sebastiano and Pagliuso Serena, on the other hand, describe the main methods of prepar-ing radiopharmaceuticals and performing med-ical-nuclear examinations in pediatric patients. By means of the differences in the execution of the examinations, the importance of dosimetry is revealed, i.e. of the diagnostic reference levels, in which the percentage of activity to be admin-istered to the child is indicated on the basis of that introduced in the adult. In the article “Models and organizational path-ways in the treatment of acute stroke” the au-thors (Romano Daniele, Grimaldi Grazia, Grimaldi Antonio) describe the result of years of controlled clinical studies, which have made it possible to reach a good level of knowledge on the efficacy and safety of the various therapeutic devices, whose use is regulated in detail by the main Guidelines (LG) in force today, including the Italian LG ISO-SPREAD of 2016 [1] and the LG produced by the American Heart Association (AHA), of which the American Stroke Associa-tion (ASA) represents a sector, and whose latest update is of 2018. Finally, in Prevention, we publish the work of Misale Fiorenza, in which she addresses the is-sue of the impact on safety and health of immi-grant workers in the construction sector in Italy.