Bmc Musculoskel Dis
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Bmc Musculoskel Dis · Jan 2009
Research priorities for non-pharmacological therapies for common musculoskeletal problems: nationally and internationally agreed recommendations.
Musculoskeletal problems such as low back pain, neck, knee and shoulder pain are leading causes of disability and activity limitation in adults and are most frequently managed within primary care. There is a clear trend towards large, high quality trials testing the effectiveness of common non-pharmacological interventions for these conditions showing, at best, small to moderate benefits. This paper summarises the main lessons learnt from recent trials of the effectiveness of non-pharmacological therapies for common musculoskeletal conditions in primary care and provides agreed research priorities for future clinical trials. ⋯ A set of research priorities for future trials of non-pharmacological therapies for common musculoskeletal conditions has been developed and agreed through national (UK) and international consensus processes. These priorities provide useful direction for researchers and research funders alike and impetus for improvement in the quality and methodology of clinical trials in this field.
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Bmc Musculoskel Dis · Jan 2009
Translation and validation study of the Persian version of the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales 2 (AIMS2) in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.
The Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales 2 (AIMS2) has not been translated and validated for Persian-speaking patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. This was to provide a validated instrument to measure functional disability and health-related quality of life in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee in Iran. The aim of this study was to culturally adapt and validate the AIMS2 for Persian-speaking patients with osteoarthritis of the knee in Iran. ⋯ The results showed that the Persian AIMS2 had reasonably good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. It is simple and easy to use and now can be applied in the future studies in Iran. However, its sensitivity to change needs still to be studied.
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Bmc Musculoskel Dis · Jan 2009
Electric toothbrush application is a reliable and valid test for differentiating temporomandibular disorders pain patients from controls.
Current methods for identifying patients with pain hypersensitivity are sufficiently complex to limit their widespread application in clinical settings. We assessed the reliability and validity of a simple multi-modal vibrotactile stimulus, applied using an electric toothbrush, to evaluate its potential as a screening tool for central sensitization. ⋯ The electric toothbrush stimulus had excellent test-retest reliability. Validity of the scores was demonstrated with modest sensitivity and good specificity for differentiating TMD pain patients from controls, which are acceptable properties for a screening test.
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Bmc Musculoskel Dis · Jan 2009
Hand-held dynamometry in patients with haematological malignancies: measurement error in the clinical assessment of knee extension strength.
Hand-held dynamometry is a portable and inexpensive method to quantify muscle strength. To determine if muscle strength has changed, an examiner must know what part of the difference between a patient's pre-treatment and post-treatment measurements is attributable to real change, and what part is due to measurement error. This study aimed to determine the relative and absolute reliability of intra and inter-observer strength measurements with a hand-held dynamometer (HHD). ⋯ The results indicate that there is acceptable relative reliability for evaluating knee strength with a HHD, while the measurement error observed was modest. The HHD may be useful in detecting changes in knee extension strength at the individual patient level.
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Bmc Musculoskel Dis · Jan 2009
Physical characteristics of the back are not predictive of low back pain in healthy workers: a prospective study.
In the working population, back disorders are an important reason for sick leave and permanent work inability. In the context of fitting the job to the worker, one of the primary tasks of the occupational health physician is to evaluate the balance between work-related and individual variables. Since this evaluation of work capacity often consists of a physical examination of the back, the objective of this study was to investigate whether a physical examination of the low back, which is routinely performed in occupational medicine, predicts the development of low back pain (LBP). ⋯ This study showed that, in a population of young workers wh no or limited antecedents of LBP at baseline, physical examinations, as routinely assessed in occupational medicine, are not useful to predict workers at risk for the development of back disorders one year later.