Physical therapy
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Movement System Impairment-Based Classification Versus General Exercise for Chronic Low Back Pain: Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial.
Low back pain (LBP) is an important health problem in all developed countries and is associated with high levels of disability. Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines usually recommend different physical therapy interventions to manage this condition. However, those interventions usually result in small to moderate clinical effects. Recent studies suggest that interventions based on subgroup classifications may improve the effect sizes compared with rehabilitation programs where the same interventions were applied to all patients. ⋯ The results of this study may contribute to a better understanding of the efficacy of treatments based on classification of participants with chronic LBP into subgroups.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Does Kinesiophobia Modify the Effects of Physical Therapy on Outcomes in Patients With Sciatica in Primary Care? Subgroup Analysis From a Randomized Controlled Trial.
A higher level of kinesiophobia appears to be associated with poor recovery in patients with sciatica. ⋯ In 135 patients with sciatica, evidence shows that patients with a higher level of kinesiophobia at baseline may particularly benefit from physical therapy with regard to decreasing leg pain intensity at 12-month follow-up.
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Therapists frequently advise the use of activity pacing as a coping strategy to manage long-term conditions (eg, chronic low back pain, chronic widespread pain, chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis). However, activity pacing has not been clearly operationalized, and there is a paucity of empirical evidence regarding pacing. This paucity of evidence may be partly due to the absence of a widely used pacing scale. To address the limitations of existing pacing scales, the 38-item Activity Pacing Questionnaire (APQ-38) was previously developed using the Delphi technique. ⋯ Developed to be widely used across a heterogeneous group of patients with chronic pain or fatigue, the APQ-26 is multifaceted and demonstrates reliability and validity. Further study will explore the effects of pacing on patients' symptoms to guide therapists toward advising pacing themes with empirical benefits.
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Physical therapists often treat older adults with marked deficits in physical function secondary to an acute hospitalization. These deficits are often collectively defined as hospital-associated deconditioning (HAD). ⋯ This perspective article outlines an innovative framework to operationalize and treat older adults with HAD. This framework may help therapists apply emerging exercise strategies to this population and facilitate additional research to support the total value of physical therapy for older adults in postacute care settings-with value measured not only by improvements in physical performance but perhaps also by reduced rates of disability development, rehospitalization, and institutionalization.
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Observational Study
Discordance Between Distance Ambulated as Part of Usual Care and Functional Exercise Capacity in Survivors of Critical Illness Upon Intensive Care Discharge: Observational Study.
People who have had a prolonged admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) commonly have profound debilitation and weakness. For the delivery of effective exercise training, an accurate assessment of exercise capacity is essential. ⋯ Most participants ambulated at a low percentage of their measured exercise capacity. The 6MWT appears to be a safe and useful test for inpatients recently discharged from the ICU.