Purpose
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are often associated with long-term sick leave, productivity loss, and reduced work functioning. However, measures that assess work-related functioning are ...sparse.
Objective
To assess the psychometric properties of the Work Rehabilitation Questionnaire (WORQ)-German version in patients with MSDs in an outpatient physical therapy practice.
Methods
Psychometric study including patients with MSDs with restricted work participation. Data was collected in a single physical therapy outpatient clinic. For construct validity, we developed a priori hypotheses on the correlation between the functioning part of WORQ (40 items) and other questionnaires with similar concepts. For test–retest reliability, WORQ was administered twice, 7 days apart. We examined internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha) and Minimal Detectable Change (MDC). Feasibility of WORQ was examined using feedback from patients and physical therapists.
Results
There were 51 study participants. Test–retest of WORQ sum score was 0.80 (p < 0.01) (Spearman’s rho). Internal consistency was 0.94 and MDC established at 9.2%. WORQ correlated with general health (r = − 0.49), with HADS (r = 0.55), and with quality of life (WHOQOL) (r = − 0.47). WORQ had the highest correlation with WHODAS 2.0 (r = 0.81). Patients rated WORQ as easy to answer and meaningful to their experience.
Conclusions
When evaluating self-reported work-related functioning, the WORQ-German version was demonstrated to be a valid, reliable, and easy to administer questionnaire for our sample of patients with MSDs in an outpatient PT clinic.
Various injectants are available for the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome. This systematic review and network meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of different injection ...therapies in alleviating the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. Various databases were searched for relevant studies from inception until May 10, 2023. Eligible studies were identified using the patient (P), intervention (I), comparison (C), and outcomes (O) model, which involved (P) participants with carpal tunnel syndrome, (I) an intervention based on injection therapy, (C) the use of placebo or another injectant as a control treatment, and (O) the measurement of clinical and electrodiagnostic outcomes of interest. A total of 18 studies were included in the analysis. The network meta-analysis revealed that platelet-rich plasma is effective in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome in terms of symptom and pain relief and functional improvement in both the short and long term, whereas steroids are effective only in the short term. Additionally, injections of dextrose solution may offer long-term pain relief as well as short- and long-term symptom alleviation and functional improvement. The study findings suggest that platelet-rich plasma should be used as the first-line treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome, with dextrose and steroids serving as alternative treatment options.
We aim to clarify the relationship between low skeletal muscle mass and varying levels of adiposity and to identify the types of physical function impairments associated with sarcopenic obesity (SO). ...This study examined cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey with whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans. The data included age, gender, DXA-assessed body composition, and physical functional activity with performing daily tasks by questionnaire. We subdivided the data by body composition into a non-SO group and a SO group (ASMI 0-49.99% and FMI of 50-100%), after which the SO data were subdivided into three classes. A higher class indicated higher adiposity and lower muscle mass. The physical function impairment of the two groups was compared. Our study examined 7161 individuals, of which 4907 did not have SO and 2254 had SO, and their data were further divided into three classes (i.e., class I, 826 individuals; class II, 1300 individuals; and class III, 128 individuals). Significant differences in demographics and DXA parameters were identified between the non-SO and SO groups (P < 0.001); the individuals with SO were older, included more women, and exhibited high adiposity and less lean muscle mass. The individuals with class III SO exhibited greater differences and reported more difficulty in performing daily activities. The individuals with class III SO exhibited the most severe physical function impairment. Our study highlights the considerable difficulties encountered by individuals with SO in performing daily activities. Given this finding, customized rehabilitation strategies should be implemented to improve the quality of life of individuals with SO.
Mental simulation practices, such as motor imagery, action observation, and guided imagery, have been an intervention of interest in neurological and musculoskeletal rehabilitation. Application of ...such practices to postoperative patients in orthopedics, particularly after total knee arthroplasty, has resulted in favorable physical function outcomes. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we wish to determine the effectiveness of mental simulation practices with standard physical therapy compared to standard physical therapy alone in patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty in terms of postoperative pain, physical functions, and patient-reported outcome measures. We identified randomized controlled trials from inception to August 28, 2021, by using the PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Scopus databases. Data collection was completed on August 28, 2021. Finally, eight articles (249 patients) published between 2014 and 2020 were included. The meta-analysis revealed that mental simulation practices caused more favorable results in pain standardized mean difference = -0.42, 95% confidence interval (CI) (-0.80 to -0.04), P = 0.03, range of motion 0.55, 95% CI (0.06-1.04), P = 0.03, maximal strength of quadriceps 1.21, 95% CI (0.31-2.12), P = 0.009, and 36-Item Short-Form Survey 0.53, 95% CI (0.14-0.92), P = 0.007. Our data suggest that mental simulation practices may be considered adjunctive to standard physiotherapy after total knee arthroplasty in patients with knee osteoarthritis.
The combination of mirror therapy (MT) and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) has been devised as an intervention method in stroke rehabilitation; however, few studies have investigated its ...efficacy in lower extremity motor function recovery. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we examined the effectiveness of combined MT and NMES therapy in improving poststroke walking speed, spasticity, balance and other gait parameters. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were selected from PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Scopus databases. In total, six RCTs which involving 181 participants were included. Our findings indicate that MT combined with NMES elicits greater improvement relative to control group in walking speed (SMD = 0.67, 95% confidence interval CI 0.26-1.07, P = 0.001), Berg Balance Scale (SMD = 0.72; 95% CI 0.31-1.13; P = 0.0007), cadence (SMD = 0.59, 95% CI 0.02-1.16, P = 0.04), step length (SMD = 0.94, 95% CI 0.35-1.53, P = 0.002), and stride length (SMD = 0.95, 95% CI 0.36-1.54, P = 0.002) but not in modified Ashworth scale (SMD = - 0.40, 95% CI - 1.05 to 0.26, P = 0.23). Our findings suggest that MT combined with NMES may be a suitable supplemental intervention to conventional therapy in stroke survivors.
Different body weight-supported gait-training strategies are available for improving ambulation in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). These include body weight-supported overground training ...(BWSOGT), body weight-supported treadmill training (BWSTT), and robot-assisted gait training (RAGT). We conducted a network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the effect and priority of each training protocol. We searched the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Embase databases from inception to 6 August 2022. The eligibility criteria were as follows: (1) being RCTs, (2) recruiting participants with SCI diagnosis and requiring gait training, (3) comparing different body weight-supported gait training strategies, and (4) involving ambulatory assessments. We conducted a network meta-analysis to compare different training strategies using the standard mean difference and its 95% credible interval. To rank the efficacy of training strategies, we used the P score as an indicator. Inconsistency in network meta-analysis was evaluated using loop-specific heterogeneity. We included 15 RCTs in this analysis. RAGT was had significantly more favourable performance than had the control intervention. The ranking probabilities indicated that the most effective approach was RAGT, followed by BWSOGT, BWSTT, and the control intervention. No significant inconsistency was noted between the results of the direct and indirect comparisons.
