Recent Advances in Motor Rehabilitation in Healthcare: Bridging Neuroscience, Technology, and Clinical Practice

Dear Colleagues,

Motor rehabilitation is a cornerstone of functional recovery in healthcare systems worldwide, especially for individuals affected by neurological and musculoskeletal disorders such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury. These conditions place a significant burden not only on patients and caregivers but also on healthcare infrastructures and socioeconomic systems. Addressing motor impairments effectively is therefore both a clinical and a public health imperative.

In recent years, advances in neuroscience, digital health, and rehabilitation technology have transformed how motor deficits are assessed, treated, and monitored. Evidence increasingly supports the role of neuroplasticity-driven interventions, personalized motor training, and interdisciplinary approaches that integrate clinical expertise with biomedical innovation. At the same time, the use of robotics, wearable sensors, brain–computer interfaces, tele-rehabilitation platforms, and AI-enhanced assessment tools is reshaping how rehabilitation is delivered, extending care from hospitals into patients’ homes and communities.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, which aims to engage a broad healthcare audience, including clinicians, rehabilitation specialists, neuroscientists, healthcare administrators, public health experts, and digital health innovators. By focusing on both scientific rigor and clinical applicability, the Issue seeks to foster cross-disciplinary dialog and support the evolution of motor rehabilitation as an integral part of modern healthcare delivery.

This Special Issue of Healthcare invites original research articles, systematic reviews, and clinical studies that explore novel approaches to motor rehabilitation within real-world healthcare contexts. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Rehabilitation tools and protocol designed to foster neuroplasticity and their clinical translation in motor rehabilitation;
• Evidence-based rehabilitation strategies in acute, subacute, and chronic care settings;
• Robot-assisted therapy and technology-enhanced motor training;
• Integration of wearable technologies and digital biomarkers into clinical practice;
• Brain–computer interfaces, rehabilitative devices facilitating cognitive-motor integration;
• Telemedicine and remote rehabilitation in home-based healthcare models;
• Outcome measures, patient-reported outcomes, and healthcare utilization metrics;
• Policy, accessibility, and equity in the provision of motor rehabilitation services.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Daniela De Bartolo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.