Effect of stabilization exercise on pain and quality of life of patients with non-specific chronic low back pain

Patients with chronic low back pain have lower quality of life compared to patients with other chronic diseases and the general population. This study was designed to assess the effect of stabilization exercises on the quality of life of patients with non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP).A total of 23 patients with NSCLBP, aged 27-65 years, participated in this study. They were recruited from the Orthopaedic Clinic of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos, Nigeria. They were put through core stabilization exercises twice weekly for 4 consecutive weeks and assessed with the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHO QoL) questionnaire and Verbal Rating Scale (VRS) at baseline and at four weeks post-treatment intervention. Ethical approval was sought and obtained from the Health Research and Ethics Committee of LUTH. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 17, and the level of significance was set at p < 0.05.Patients recorded significant reduction in pain severity following intervention (p= 0.01). There was also significant improvement in the quality of life domains (psychological health and social relationship) (p=0.01) post intervention, and only age correlated directly with social relationship of the quality of life domain (r=0.59, p=0.01).This study concluded that stabilization exercises reduced pain and improved the psychological health as well as social relationship domains of the quality of life of patients with non-specific chronic low back pain.Keywords: stabilization, quality of life, non-specific low back pai

Management of low back pain: knowledge and adherence to clinical practice guidelines amongst physiotherapists in selected hospitals in lagos state

Objective: The therapeutic management of patients with Low Back Pain (LBP) has long been characterized by considerable variation among physiotherapists within and between countries. Over the past decade, systematic reviews have been written, and clinical practice guidelines have been made available. However, knowledge and adherence to clinical practice guidelines seem to be challenging as developing them in the first place. This study was therefore aimed at determining the knowledge and adherence to LBP clinical practice guidelines amongst Physiotherapist in selected hospitals in Lagos State.Methods: A total of 154 practicing physiotherapists based in Lagos State participated in this study. They were required to complete a 34-item questionnaire which collected information on demographic data, work experience, treatment activities and their knowledge and adherence to the LBP clinical practice guidelines.Results: Only a small percentage (28.30%) of the respondents is knowledgeable while even a smaller population (21.70%) adhered to the LBP clinical practice guideline. Knowledge and adherence to LBP clinical practice guidelines were influenced by setting of practice (p=0.05, p=0.01) and area of specialization (p=0.02, p=0.01) of the physiotherapists. However, age (p=0.70, p=0.13) and involvement in the management of LBP (p= 0.23, p=0.35) did not influence knowledge and adherence to LBP clinical practice guidelines.Conclusion: A small population of the respondents are knowledgeable and adhere to the LBP clinical practice guidelines and some of the characteristics of the physiotherapists influence the knowledge and adherence to LBP clinical practice guidelines.Keywords: Low back pain, Clinical practice Guidelines, Knowledge, Adherenc

Prevalence of Low Back Pain Among Traffic Wardens in Lagos State, Nigeria

Low back pain (LBP) has been found to be common among workers in certain industries and occupations. However, little is known about the prevalence of low back pain among traffic wardens in Nigeria, who are perceived to belong to the group of workers that are exposed to high  occupational risks. This study was designed to determine the prevalence of low back pain and its associated risk factors among traffic wardens. The study design was a cross-sectional descriptive survey. All subjects were  evaluated using a 32-item questionnaire to collect information on the demographic characteristics, years of involvement in working as a traffic warden, history of LBP in the last 12 months, possible causes and management of LBP, and the effect of LBP on work and the activities of daily living. The intensity of the pain was assessed using a verbal ratingscale. The prevalence of low back pain over a 12-month period was observed to be 69.5%. The intensity was described as moderate (49.2%), mild (11.8%), or severe (8.6%). Eighty (61.5%) of the traffic wardens agreed that LBP constitutes some form of impediment to their job  activities. There was a relationship between age and prevalence of low back pain, with age 35 – 54 years having the highest level of prevalence. Years of involvement in regulating traffic also has a significant influence on the severity of LBP. A higher prevalence was identified among males compared to females This study concluded that low back pain is prevalent among traffic wardens and the female wardens are more susceptible than their male counterparts. Also, age and years of involvement in regulating trafficsignificantly influence prevalence of LBP.KEY WORDS: low back pain, traffic warden, occupational healt

A comparative study of the effects of aerobic and resisted exercises on selected cardiopulmonary parameters in patients with asthma

Asthma is a multi-factorial disease associated with genetic, allergic, environmental, infectious, emotional, and nutritional issues. Globally, asthma affects about 300 million people and about 250,000 people die from it every year. These deaths are related to lack of proper treatment. Treatment involves controlling trigger factors, drug therapy, and other non-pharmacological methods. Although a few studies have evaluated the effects of exercises on asthma control, there is the need for well-designed outcome studies that will differentiate efficacious exercise management for asthma from those that hold little therapeutic value. This study compared the effects of aerobic and resisted exercises on selected cardiopulmonary parameters in patients with asthma.Forty-five patients with asthma were recruited from the Respiratory Unit, Department of Medicine, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos and were randomly assigned to 3 different groups. Group A underwent aerobic exercise and counselling sessions; Group B, resisted exercise and counselling sessions; and Group C had counselling sessions only. Groups A and B had exercise intervention that lasted 10-15 minutes, twice weekly for 6 weeks. Cardiopulmonary parameters were assessed at baseline and at the end of 6 weeks.Only Group B showed significant improvements in all the cardiovascular variables (SBP: p=0.01, DBP: p=0.03, HR: p=0.02 and RPP: p=0.01). There were also significant improvements in most of the pulmonary 1 1 variables of Group A (RR: p=0.01, FEV : p=0.01, FVC: p=0.01 and FEV %: p=0.02), however, there was none in Groups B and C. Comparison of the mean changes in selected variables between the two therapeutic exercise 1 groups showed significant differences in SBP (p=0.01), DBP (p=0.04), RPP (p=0.02), RR (p=0.01), FEV 1 (p=0.01), FVC (p=0.05), FEV % (p=0.01) and IC (p=0.05).Aerobic exercise was more effective in improving pulmonary parameters while resisted exercise was more effective in improving cardiovascular parameters in patients with asthma.Keywords: aerobic exercise, asthma, cardiopulmonary, resisted exercis

Relationship among Pain, Physical Function, Quality Of Life and Selected Anthropometric Measures in Individuals with Knee Osteoarthritis

Background: Knee osteoarthritis is estimated to be the most common cause of disability and affect quality of life, with accompanying pain as the most frequent problem.Objectives: Hence, the need to assess the relationship among pain, physical function, quality of life, body mass index and waist to hip ratio in individuals with knee osteoarthritis.Method: This cross-sectional survey involved two hundred participants recruited from physiotherapy clinic in selected health facilities in Lagos and Ogun States through a convenience sampling technique. Socio-demographic data were obtained by the use of self administered questionnaires while anthropometric measures were by measurements. Ibadan Knee/Hip Osteoarthritis Outcome Measure (IKHOAM) and World Health Organization Quality of Life Bref (WHOQoLBref) were employed to obtain physical function and quality of life scores respectively while pain was measured using the visual analogue scale. Descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation, frequency and percentages were used to summarize the demographic and physical characteristics while inferential statistics of Pearson product moment coefficient was used to test the relationship among variables. Alpha level was set at p<0.05.Results: The age of the participants ranged from 32-88 years with a mean of 57.09± 9.85 years. There was a significant positive correlation between physical function and quality of life (p=0.001) but significant negative correlation was observed between pain and quality of life (p=0.001).There was no significant relationship between physical function; BMI and WHR (p> 0.05).Conclusion: Significant relationship exists between, physical function and quality of life. There was a relationship between pain and quality of life and also physical function and some selected arthropometric measures among Nigerians with knee osteoarthritis.Keywords: Knee Osteoarthritis, pain, Physical function, Quality of life, Body mass index, Waist to hip ratio

Relationship Between Spasticity and Health Related Quality of Life in Individuals with Cerebral Palsy

Background: There is growing awareness of health related quality of life in cerebral palsy patients, though there is paucity of data in determining its relationship with spasticity in cerebral palsy patients.Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between spasticity and health related quality of life in cerebral palsy patients.Method: A cross-sectional survey design was employed in this study. A total of fifty individuals with cerebral palsy, males (54%) and females (46%) within the age range of 5 years and 18 years (9.06+ 3.38 years) participated in the study. Measurement of spasticity was done by the researcher using the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) and the parents or primary caregivers of the participants were required to complete the Caregiver Priorities and Child Health Index of Life with Disabilities (CPCHILD) questionnaire, which is a 37-item questionnaire that collects information on the health related quality of life. Data was analysed separately for each of the six domains of the questionnaire using the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation coefficient on SPSS version 17 and the level of significance was set at p= 0.05.Results: According to the results, the domains of comfort and emotions with communication and social interaction do not have an influence on spasticity. The results also revealed that there was a significant relationship between spasticity and health related quality of life in cerebral palsy patients (p = 0.01).Conclusion: Personal care and mobility which are aspects of the health related quality of life should be paid more attention to, as they are negatively affected by spasticity in patients with cerebral palsy.Key words: Cerebral palsy, Spasticity. Health related quality of life

The links between Generalized Joint Laxity and the incidence, prevalence and severity of limb injuries related to physical exercise: a systematic literature review

© 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Background: Generalized Joint Laxity (GJL) is a significant risk factor for lower limb injury incidence and prevalence in sporting populations. However, the links with upper limb injury and injury severity in a wider population of people undertaking physical exercise have not been systematically reviewed to date. Objectives: The primary aim was to determine the links between GJL and the incidence, prevalence and severity of upper and lower limb injuries related to physical exercise. Secondary aims were to identify the quality of the existing research evidence and gaps within the literature that may warrant future research. Methods: Relevant literature was identified using online databases (SportDiscus, Medline, CINAHL and EMBASE OVID) and snowballing. Research papers with a primary aim of identifying a link between GJL and upper and lower limb injury incidence, prevalence and/or severity were included. The population of interest was those undertaking physical exercise, not limited to sport. Included papers were critically appraised and a narrative synthesis conducted. Results: A total of 274 studies were identified. Following application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, nine papers were selected for critical appraisal that investigated the link between GJL and the incidence, prevalence and/or severity of limb injuries. The link between GJL and lower limb injury incidence and prevalence was supported across numerous types of physical exercise. However, the links between GJL and upper limb injury, and injury severity was inconclusive. Conclusions: GJL is associated with increased lower limb injury incidence and prevalence. Future research should investigate the links between GJL, upper limb injury and injury severity