European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine
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Most analytical studies found in literature only focus on specific aspects of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gait and posture (joint range of motion, standing balance, variations of gait spatial-temporal parameters). Some of them analyze single cases and do not provide a comprehensive evaluation of locomotion. There are few studies about DMD gait patterns, most of them concerning small groups of patients, sometimes not homogeneous, in which the clinical manifestations of the next stages of DMD were present. ⋯ It was shown that instrumented gait analysis, being more sensitive than other clinical and functional assessment methods, allowed to quantify the very early modifications characterizing locomotion worsening in the first stage of the DMD.
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Sep 2011
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyComparison of the effects of low energy laser and ultrasound in treatment of shoulder myofascial pain syndrome: a randomized single-blinded clinical trial.
Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is one of the most prevalent musculoskeletal diseases. MPS impaired quality of life in the patients. There is a lot of controversy about different treatment options which include medical treatments, physical therapy, injections, ultrasound and laser. The effects of laser in MPS are challenging. ⋯ This study introduces laser as one of the preferred treatments of myofascial pain syndrome in shoulder.
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Sep 2011
ReviewScope, background and definition of pulmonary rehabilitation.
The optimal therapy of an individual with chronic respiratory disease usually requires a combination of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapies. A case of a 68-year-old man with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is given to illustrate this point. He is a recent ex-smoker with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by spirometric criteria, frequent exacerbations of this disease, considerable recent health care utilization, dyspnea with minimal activities, severe functional status limitation, prominent systemic effects of the disease (e.g., weight loss) and substantial comorbidities. ⋯ It works primarily through reducing the impact of the systemic manifestations of the disease and frequent comorbidity. Pulmonary rehabilitation also leads to substantial reductions in subsequent health care utilization, possibly through collaborative self-management strategies emphasized in the program. Although pulmonary rehabilitation has been utilized by astute clinicians for many years, its science has been developed over the past two decades.
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Pulmonary rehabilitation is a relatively recent practice in pulmonary medicine which is classically described as a multidisciplinary program of care for patients with chronic respiratory impairment. There is solid evidence of effectiveness for the pulmonary rehabilitation and, with lower level of evidence, for some of its specific components. ⋯ Outcomes assessment in pulmonary rehabilitation is of main importance to evaluate its evidence-based effectiveness. Although, several questions remain unresolved, pulmonary rehabilitation programs should be included in the comprehensive treatment of patients with respiratory diseases.
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Sep 2011
Randomized Controlled TrialShort-term effects of high-intensity laser therapy versus ultrasound therapy in the treatment of low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.
Low back pain (LBP) is a common musculoskeletal disorder that is highly prevalent in the general population. Management of this pathology includes numerous interventions depending on pain severity: analgesic, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroid injections. However, the effect size and duration of symptom relief are limited. Physical therapy (ultrasound [US], laser therapy, manual therapy, interferential current therapy, Back School, aerobic work, therapeutic aquatic exercise acupuncture) have been reported often with mixed results. ⋯ Our findings obtained after 15 treatment sessions with the experimental protocol suggested greater effectiveness of HILT than of US therapy in the treatment of LBP, proposing HILT as a promising new therapeutic option into the rehabilitation of LBP.