Objective：We identified the factors that influenced the effect of the Wearable Cyborg Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Methods：The subjects were patients with ALS who were admitted to our hospital, and all of them underwent HAL intervention. The changes in 2-minute walking distance (2 MD) before and after 1 course of HAL intervention were investigated. Next, we examined the factors that influence the degree of 2 MD improvement using patient attributes and indices of body composition, nutritional status, respiratory function, and ADL (Activities of Daily Living) before HAL intervention.

Results：Thirteen subjects showed significant improvement in 2 MD measured before and after the HAL intervention (median 2 MD [quartile] before intervention－median 2 MD [quartile] after intervention：36.0 [32-94.49] m－74.1 [32.75-117.8] m, p＝0.001). The Barthel Index (BI) and phase angle were identified as the factors that influenced the degree of 2 MD improvement (ANOVA：p＝0.004).

Conclusion：The results suggest that the degree of improvement in 2 MD by HAL intervention in patients with ALS was the most affected by their BI and phase angle before the intervention. Thus, BI and phase angle may be useful as predictors in the degree of 2 MD improvement by HAL intervention in patients with ALS.

An 81-year-old woman sustained a fracture of the vertebra, resulting in grace deformation. After surgery for the spinal fixation, she suffered from left femoral neuropathic pain and motor weakness of both lower extremities. Daily repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the lower extremity area in the right motor cortex was applied using a figure-8 coil connected to a magnetic stimulator (MagPro R30；Nagventure)．One thousand pulses per session were delivered (10 trains of 10Hz for 10 seconds with 25-seconds intertrain interval) in one day, and this treatment continued for 2 weeks except Sunday. The intensity of rTMS was set at the resting motor threshold for that day. rTMS together with physical therapy resulted in a remarkable amelioration of the femoral pain and motor weakness of both lower extremities. Pain on a Visual Analogue Scale dropped from 70％ to 22％, and walking speed and walking rate increased. Functional Independence Measure score increased from 58 to 79, and Euro QOL 5 score increased from 0.419 to 0.768. As previously reported in cases of post-stroke pain and motor weakness, rTMS together with physical therapy exerted measurable beneficial effects on intractable pain and motor weakness caused by spinal orthodontic fixation.

Knee rotationplasty is a surgery wherein the rotated ankle serves as the new knee joint after resecting the original knee joint and lesion. However, details of postoperative rehabilitation treatment in a convalescent rehabilitation ward are not well-known. Therefore, we reported the rehabilitation progress of a 36-year-old man who underwent knee rotationplasty in the convalescent rehabilitation ward. In the early postoperative period, the surgery required no weight bearing on the operated lower limb until bone healing. Even during this period, we conducted physical therapies such as joint range of motion training and muscle strength training as outpatient rehabilitation therapy. After being admitted to the convalescent rehabilitation ward, physical therapy was intensified and the patient's rotationplasty prosthesis was then fabricated and fitted by a prosthetist and orthotist. The patient was discharged 80 days after his hospitalization and could eventually walk stably with his prosthesis and returned to work. In Japan, the length of stay in a convalescent rehabilitation ward is limited. If patients are provided with enough physical therapy during the postoperative course and rotationplasty prosthesis by a skilled prosthetist and orthotist, rehabilitation treatment after knee rotationplasty can achieve good results in a convalescent rehabilitation ward.

Many acute and subacute complications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been reported. However, the recovery process in severely ill patients is not clear. Here, we report three patients with favorable physical function after severe COVID-19. All three patients were older than 65 years and had comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and smoking habits. During respiratory failure, they received mechanical ventilation support for more than 4 days. Two patients had undergone tracheostomy, and one had undergone extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). At the time of transfer to our hospital, they had lower-limb muscle weakness, respiratory distress on exertion, exercise-induced hypoxemia (EIH), and complications from immobility, such as peroneal nerve palsy. During rehabilitation, we monitored peripheral blood oxygen saturation, adjusted the workload, and administered temporary orthotic therapy. The patients improved within 150 days after the onset of the disease, and they were discharged home and were able to walk as a practical means of transportation. Even after severe COVID-19, the patients achieved good physical function. Interventions for EIH and complications due to immobility were additionally necessary. In the future, we must examine the relationship between improvements in physical function and rehabilitation.