Manual therapy
-
Review Meta Analysis Comparative Study
The effectiveness of sub-group specific manual therapy for low back pain: a systematic review.
Manual therapy is frequently used to treat low back pain (LBP), but evidence of its effectiveness is limited. One explanation may be sample heterogeneity and inadequate sub-grouping of participants in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) where manual therapy has not been targeted toward those likely to respond. ⋯ This review found preliminary evidence supporting the effectiveness of sub-group specific manual therapy. Further high quality research on LBP sub-groups is required.
-
Review Comparative Study
Psychometric properties of the Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale for Physiotherapists: a systematic review.
Evidence suggests that care providers' attitudes influence their perception of patient characteristics and the way they manage their cases. Attitudes and beliefs of care providers can be measured with the Pain Attitude and Beliefs Scale for Physiotherapists (PABS-PT). This study evaluates the measurement properties of the PABS-PT. ⋯ The PABS-PT is still in a developmental stage. Results for the psychometric properties are promising, but content validity and interpretability need more study. The relationship between implicit and explicit attitudes, and their influence on test scores, remains unclear.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Can a functional postural exercise improve performance in the cranio-cervical flexion test?--a preliminary study.
Deep cervical flexor (DCF) muscle impairment is common in patients with neck pain. Retraining function is often commenced with a motor relearning approach, requiring the patient to practice and hold a cranio-cervical flexion position in supine lying. Motor relearning requires multiple repetitions which is difficult to achieve if only exercising in supine. ⋯ There was no difference between groups for pain and disability measures. This initial study indicates that a postural exercise, convenient to perform during the working day, improves the pattern of SCM muscle activity in the CCFT. Whilst further research is necessary, these observations suggest the worth of such an exercise to augment other training in the rehabilitation of patients with neck pain.
-
Manual palpation (MP) is commonly used for the assessment of patients with neuromusculoskeletal dysfunction. During assessment of lumbo-pelvic disorders in particular, it may be used not only to explore pain and resistance in the region, but also to evaluate the symmetry and movement quality of the area. Whilst reliability of MP has been extensively investigated, its validity remains relatively under researched. ⋯ The mean error (standard deviation) (mm) for MP of L4, LPSIS, RPSIS were 15.63 (3.89), 20.07 (4.60), 20.59 (2.79) respectively. Bland and Altman analysis gave a mean value of 0.173, with 95% limits of agreement ranging from -27.8 to 26.3. This study suggests that MP of specific lumbo-pelvic bony points has limited validity.
-
There is a common belief that the laxity of pelvic joints increases in pregnancy. The hormone relaxin is suggested to be one of the most influential factors implementing this effect. Furthermore, increased laxity is assumed to induce pelvic girdle pain (PGP). ⋯ Serum concentration of relaxin showed a significant association to positive score on the ASLR test, but no significant associations to responses to pain provocation tests, pain intensity or DRI. The results indicate that relaxin contributes to laxity of pelvic joints in pregnancy. Yet, no evidence of relaxin having an impact on symptoms or perceived disability was found.