Prevalence, characteristics, and impacts of work-related musculoskeletal disorders: a survey among physical therapists in the State of Kuwait

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Physical therapists working in the State of Kuwait are at risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). However, prevalence rates and risk factors are not well documented. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence, characteristics, and impacts of WMSDs among physical therapists in the State of Kuwait.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 350 physical therapists. The questionnaire gathered demographic data as well as information on occurrence of musculoskeletal complaints in the previous 12 months. Descriptive statistics, frequency, and Chi-square analyses were used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The response rate to the questionnaire was 63% (222/350). Of the 212 responders included in the study, the one-year prevalence of WMSDs was 47.6%, with lower back complaints as the most common (32%). This was followed by neck (21%), upper back (19%), shoulder (13%), hand/wrist (11%), knee (11%), ankle/foot (6%), elbow (4%), and hip/thigh (3%) complaints. The frequency of WMSDs was not gender related (except lower back, neck, and shoulder complaints) nor was it related to age (except lower back complaints), working venues (except hand/wrist), working hours, area of specialty, or exercise. WMSDs' impact on work was minor.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>WMSDs among physical therapists in Kuwait were common, with lower back and neck affected most. Lower back and neck WMSDs were related to the participant's demographics. Hand/wrist WMSDs were related to work settings. Further research is needed to investigate the effect of risk factors as physical load, psychosocial load, and general health status on prevalence musculoskeletal disorders.</p

Clients' reasons for prenatal ultrasonography in Ibadan, South West of Nigeria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Prenatal ultrasonography has remained a universal tool but little is known especially from developing countries on clients' reasons for desiring it. Then aim was to determine the reasons why pregnant women will desire a prenatal ultrasound.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>It was a cross-sectional survey of consecutive 222 women at 2 different ultrasonography facilities in Ibadan, South-west Nigeria.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean age of the respondents was 30.1 ± 4.5 years. The commonest reason for requesting for prenatal ultrasound scans was to check for fetal viability in 144 women (64.7%) of the respondents, followed by fetal gender determination in 50 women (22.6%. Other reasons were to check for number of fetuses, fetal age and placental location. Factors such as younger age, artisans profession and low level of education significantly influenced the decision to check for fetal viability on bivariate analysis but all were not significant on multivariate analysis. Concerning fetal gender determination, older age, Christianity, occupation and gravidity were significant on bivariate analysis, however, only gravidity and occupation remained significant independent predictor on logistic regression model. Women with less than 3 previous pregnancies were about 4 times more likely to request for fetal sex determination than women with more than 3 previous pregnancies, (OR 3.8 95%CI 1.52 – 9.44). The professionals were 7 times more likely than the artisans to request to find out about their fetal sex, (OR 7.0 95%CI 1.47 – 333.20).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study shows that Nigerian pregnant women desired prenatal ultrasonography mostly for fetal viability, followed by fetal gender determination. These preferences were influenced by their biosocial variables.</p

The effects of isothermal transformation on the fatigue strength of austempered ductile iron

The fatigue strength of austempered ductile irons was studied. Austempering was carried out by initial austenitising at temperatures of 850, 900 and 950°C for 1 hour followed by rapid quenching and holding in a salt bath maintained at temperatures of 280, 300, and 350°C for different time intervals (15,30,60,90 or 120 minutes). Fatigue test was prepared to standard and the number of cycles to failure for each specimen was plotted against the bending stresses for the specimen. Results showed that at low austenitising and low austempering temperatures, the fatigue limits were generally low. Increasing the austenitising temperature to 950°C while maintaining the austempering temperature at 3500C, the fatigue limits of both medium silicon and high silicon alloys increased. The highest fatigue strength 450Nmm-2 was obtained from alloy austenitised at 950°C and austempered at 350°C for 90 minutes. Keywords: fatigue, austempered ductile cast iron Botswana Journal of Technology Vol. 14(2) 2005: 21-2

Behavioural and Anthropometric Risk Factors for Diabetes Mellitus among Newly Admitted Undergraduates in a Nigerian University

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is fast becoming a global epidemic, and its revalence is increasing in children and young adults. The aim of the study was to identify young adults who had type 2 DM or impaired fasting glucose as well as those at risk of these conditions using anthropometric data and behavioral pattern. Methodology: Two hundred and twenty newly admitted undergraduates who were randomly selected during the registration process were involved in the study. Anthropometric parameters were measured while information on demographic details, medical history, and family history were obtained using a standard questionnaire. Fasting blood glucose was measured using the glucose oxidase method. Results: Two hundred and seven (94%) participants had serum glucose within reference range, 10 (4.6%) had impaired fasting glucose, and 3 (1.4%) had serum glucose &gt;7.1 mmol/L, which is indicative of DM. A large number (91.4%) of individuals engaged in physical activity equivalent to a walk of at least 30 min/day. Most of them (93.2%) had body mass index &lt;25.0 while 6.8% were overweight. One hundred and three participants (46.8%) indicated that they eat 3 or more servings of whole grain per day. Conclusion: Most of the participants are involved in healthy lifestyle. This has resulted in very low prevalence of impaired fasting glucose and type 2 DM among the group. It will be useful to follow up the group and note if they are able to maintain this trend since the risk of developing DM is known to increase with age.Keywords: Impaired fasting glucose, lifestyle, prevalence, type 2 diabetes mellitus, young adult

A systematic review of electrical stimulation for pressure ulcer prevention and treatment in people with spinal cord injuries

Context: Electrical stimulation (ES) can confer benefit to pressure ulcer (PU) prevention and treatment in spinal cord injuries (SCI). However, clinical guidelines regarding the use of ES for PU management in SCI remain limited. Objectives: To critically appraise and synthesize the research evidence on ES for PU prevention and treatment in SCI. Method: Review was limited to peer-reviewed studies published in English from 1970 to July 2013. Studies included randomized controlled trials (RCTs), non-RCTs, prospective cohort studies, case series, case control and case report studies. Target population included adults with SCI. Interventions of any type of ES were accepted. Any outcome measuring effectiveness of PU prevention and treatment was included. Methodological quality was evaluated using established instruments. Results: Twenty-seven studies were included, 9/27 studies were RCTs. Six RCTs were therapeutic trials. ES enhanced PU healing in all eleven therapeutic studies. Two types of ES modalities were identified in therapeutic studies (surface electrodes, anal probe), 4 types of modalities in preventive studies (surface electrodes, ES shorts, sacral anterior nerve root implant, neuromuscular electrical stimulation implant). Conclusion: The methodological quality of the studies was poor, in particular for prevention studies. A significant effect of ES on enhancement of PU healing is shown in limited Grade I evidence. The great variability in ES parameters, stimulating locations and outcome measure leads to an inability to advocate any one standard approach for PU therapy or prevention. Future research is suggested to improve the design of ES devices, standardize ES parameters and conduct more rigorous trials