Does laser therapy improve pain or pinch strength for thumb carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis as an isolated treatment? A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic and prevalent joint disorder that greatly impacts quality of life and has a high economic burden on health resources. Although a number of conservative therapies have proven to be effective for the management of hand OA, only modest treatment effects were reported for most individual interventions. The aim of the proposed study is to assess the effect of laser therapy on pain and pinch strength in subjects with thumb carpometacarpal osteoarthritis (CMC OA) Materials and Methods: 43 patients, (mean ± SD age: 71 ±12 years; 57% female) with the diagnosis of CMC joint OA grade 1-2 were randomized to the control (n=21) or experimental (n=23) groups. The primary outcome measures were pain intensity [Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)], and the secondary outcome measure was key pinch strength (dynamometer). The experimental group received laser therapy and control group received a placebo treatment. All outcome measures were collected at baseline, immediately following the intervention at 4 weeks, and at 12 weeks following the intervention. Results: The experimental group evidenced a 2-point improvement VAS pain score following the treatment. There was a gain of 0.7 kg of pinch strength in the experimental group following the treatment. The effects of both pinch strength gains and pain reduction diminished by the 12 week follow up. Conclusions: High intensity laser therapy effectively decreases pain intensity when used as a isolated treatment for early CMC OA, but the effect of treatment decreases after 3 months.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Alexithymia and depression in elderly people that get directed physical activity

La relación entre la alexitimia y la depresión y los factores sociodemográficos ha sido estudiada en personas mayores. Sin embargo, el papel atenuador del ejercicio en estas afecciones aún debe ser determinado. En el presente estudio se mide el grado de alexitimia y depresión en adultos mayores, comparando una muestra sedentaria con una de practicantes de actividad física. Se utilizó un diseño descriptivo transversal con una muestra compuesta por 27 participantes, 9 hombres y 18 mujeres de más de 60 años (64 ± 5.1 años), con objeto de medir el grado de alexitimia y depresión que presentaban en el momento de la recogida de datos. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron la escala de depresión de Yesavage, la Escala de Alexitimia de Toronto (TAS-20) y el Cuestionario de Salud SF-12. Los resultados mostraron que los practicantes de actividad física presentaban puntuaciones más bajas en alexitimia y depresión que los sujetos sedentarios, sin que éstas variables estuvieran relacionadas en función del género y la edad. A tenor de los resultados, el ejercicio pudiera jugar algún papel en la modulación de las alteraciones psicológicas

Anthropometric characteristics and physical fitness in elite futsal male players. A systematic review

The purpose of the study was to summarize scientific literature on anthropometric characteristics and physical condition in high-level futsal male players. Potentially relevant publications were identified by searching electronic databases from inception to September 2019. Selected studies were independently reviewed for methodological quality and assigned a level of evidence. A total of 10 articles comprised this review, all of them being observational designs. Physical fitness studies included power, speed, agility, flexibility, and functional tests, maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) and ventilatory threshold (VT) testing. PEDro scale values ranged from 4 to 7, with an average of 5.7 and low/moderate to moderate/strong methodological quality. Futsal players tend to show different physical profiles depending on their position. In general, field futsal players present higher VO2max, VT, and heart rate values than goalkeepers. Together with these findings, more interventional studies are needed for the purpose of defining proper physiological and anthropometric profile in high-level futsal

Platelet-rich plasma in the management of trigger finger: A case report.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has emerged as a viable therapeutic alternative for a number of clinical applications and has potential benefit for use in trigger finger. However, PRP use has not been previously reported for this condition. We report a 63-year-old woman sustaining a refractory trigger finger after a series of three PRP injections over a 2-week period. There was resolution of triggering, with no symptom recurrence at 3-month follow-up. On the basis of this report, we can assume that the treatment of trigger finger with PRP is a promising therapeutic option to be further explored with larger samples and high-quality studies

Outcomes of “Over the Top” Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Associated with a Lateral Extra-Articular Tenodesis in Children

(1) Purpose: The incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures in children and adolescents has considerably increased during the last decades due to higher levels of competitive athletic activity, and early sport specialization and professionalization. Contemporary ACL reconstruction techniques have recently been subject to renewed interest in this population. The objective of this study is to report the short- and mid-term results of our physis-sparing ACL reconstruction technique using an “over the top” technique associated with a modified Lemaire procedure. (2) Methods: A retrospective series of 12 junior soccer players who presented to our clinic with a torn ACL between January 2019 and September 2021 was reviewed. The inclusion criteria were patients under 15 years with open tibial and femoral physes, with a stable contralateral knee, a minimum follow-up of 6 months, and a time frame from injury to surgery of Results: We identified 1 female and 11 male patients with ACL tears, with a mean age of 13.17 ± 0.9 months. Concomitant injuries include isolated vertical and bucket-handle tears of the medial meniscus, lateral meniscus tears, bilateral tear of both menisci. The mean follow-up time was 26 ± 12.6 months. The average IKDC, Lysholm and Tegner scores were 93.29 ± 11.04, 95.08 ± 13.2 and 9 ± 0.0 points, respectively. The average KT-1000 score of the participants was 0.96 ± 1.6 points. None of the included patients reported post-surgical complications or required additional surgeries. (4) Conclusions: Our novel ACL reconstruction with LET technique is a safe procedure that resulted in good clinical outcomes, lower failure rate and return to sports in skeletally immature patients