Manual therapy
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Cervical manipulation has been considered an effective treatment for managing neck pain. However, clinical observation showed that cervical manipulation was not effective for every patient. Development of clinical prediction rules for identifying patients with neck pain who are likely to respond to cervical manipulation may improve clinical decision-making and the treatment success rate. ⋯ The presence of four or more of these predictors increased the probability of success with manipulation to 89%. We concluded that using favourable predictors to identify treatment responders before administering cervical manipulations could significantly increase the probabilities of a successful treatment. This study finding may enhance the efficacy of clinical decision-making in using cervical manipulation intervention.
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A small-scale exploratory cross-sectional survey investigated the current use of a range of exercise therapy approaches for low back pain (LBP) by outpatient physiotherapists in the acute hospital setting in the Republic of Ireland, where the majority of publicly funded treatment is delivered. Of the 120 postal questionnaires distributed to 24 physiotherapy departments, 87 were returned (72.5% response rate). ⋯ The most popular forms of exercise therapy used by outpatient physiotherapists in acute hospital settings in Ireland lack support from evidence-based clinical guidelines, and further large-scale high quality randomized controlled trials of these approaches are warranted. Further research should also establish the use of exercise therapy and attitudes to clinical guidelines of physiotherapists in other countries and healthcare settings.
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Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) experience chronic musculoskeletal pain which is even more debilitating than fatigue. Scientific research data gathered around the world enables clinicians to understand, at least in part, chronic musculoskeletal pain in CFS patients. Generalized joint hypermobility and benign joint hypermobility syndrome appear to be highly prevalent among CFS sufferers, but they do not seem to be of any clinical importance. ⋯ CFS sufferers respond to incremental exercise with a lengthened and accentuated oxidative stress response, explaining muscle pain, postexertional malaise, and the decrease in pain threshold following graded exercise in CFS patients. Applying the scientific evidence to the manual physiotherapy profession, pacing self-management techniques and pain neurophysiology education are indicated for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain in CFS patients. Studies examining the effectiveness of these strategies for CFS patients are warranted.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A preliminary investigation into the relationship between cervical snags and sympathetic nervous system activity in the upper limbs of an asymptomatic population.
Spinal manipulative therapy techniques are commonly employed by physiotherapists in the clinical setting for the management of neuromusculoskeletal pain and dysfunction, although their underlying mechanism is not fully understood. Mulligan's sustained natural apophyseal glides (SNAGs) constitute one of these techniques. This preliminary investigation was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the application of cervical SNAGs to the C5/6 intervertebral joint (with cervical right rotation) and indirect measures of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity. ⋯ There were no apparent left/right upper limb differences for SC and ST for each condition. The results of this study suggest that cervical SNAG techniques, performed on naïve asymptomatic subjects, have a sympathoexcitatory effect as measured by changes in SC and ST. The importance of this sympathoexcitatory effect in relation to potential mechanisms for manipulation induced analgesia are discussed, and further areas of research proposed.
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Controlled Clinical Trial
Myofascial trigger points in the suboccipital muscles in episodic tension-type headache.
Referred pain evoked by suboccipital muscle trigger points (TrPs) spreads to the side of the head over the occipital and temporal bones and is usually perceived as bilateral headache. This paper describes the presence of referred pain from suboccipital muscle TrPs in subjects with episodic tension-type headache (ETTH) and in healthy controls. Ten patients presenting with ETTH and 10 matched controls without headache were examined by a blinded assessor for the presence of suboccipital muscle TrPs. ⋯ Differences in the presence of suboccipital muscle TrPs between both groups were significant for active TrPs (P<0.001), but not for latent TrPs. Active TrPs were only present in ETTH patients, although TrP activity was not related to any clinical variable concerning the intensity and the temporal profile of headache. Myofascial TrPs in the suboccipital muscles might contribute to the origin and/or maintenance of headache, but a comprehensive knowledge of the role of these muscles in tension-type headache awaits further research.