Is there a difference in the pattern of muscle activity when performing neck exercises with a guild board versus a pulley?

Objective: Guild boards and pulleys are apparatus commonly used to train cervical muscle function for their purported benefit in facilitating activity of the deeper muscle layers, although this effect has not been substantiated. The objective of this study was to compare the activity of the different layers of cervical muscles when performing exercise with these 2 types of apparatus

Перспективы развития логистической деятельности мелких торговых организаций Беларуси

Дана оценка логистической деятельности мелких торговых организаций Беларуси и намечены пути ее совершенствования

Resilient health systems : mapping of the Health Information Systems in the EU, their resilience and preparedness to join the European Health Data Space

Health Information Systems (HIS) are key pillars for generating knowledge for evidence-based decision making, and consequently, contribute to better health of the population. The COVID-19 pandemic further emphasised the importance of having robust and resilient HIS and the need for digital solutions to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. To assess the functioning of the different HIS in Europe, mapping exercises are conducted across three different EU wide projects, namely the Population Health Information Research Infrastructure (PHIRI) project, the Joint Action Towards the European Health Data Space (TEHDAS), and the Health Emergency Preparedness Response Authority (HERA) IT project. These mapping exercises provide insights on the state-of-play, the components, strengths and weaknesses of the national health information systems and their health data management in more than 19 European countries.peer-reviewe

Modelling human musculoskeletal functional movements using ultrasound imaging

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A widespread and fundamental assumption in the health sciences is that muscle functions are related to a wide variety of conditions, for example pain, ischemic and neurological disorder, exercise and injury. It is therefore highly desirable to study musculoskeletal contributions in clinical applications such as the treatment of muscle injuries, post-surgery evaluations, monitoring of progressive degeneration in neuromuscular disorders, and so on.</p> <p>The spatial image resolution in ultrasound systems has improved tremendously in the last few years and nowadays provides detailed information about tissue characteristics. It is now possible to study skeletal muscles in real-time during activity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The ultrasound images are transformed to be congruent and are effectively compressed and stacked in order to be analysed with multivariate techniques. The method is applied to a relevant clinical orthopaedic research field, namely to describe the dynamics in the Achilles tendon and the calf during real-time movements.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This study introduces a novel method to medical applications that can be used to examine ultrasound image sequences and to detect, visualise and quantify skeletal muscle dynamics and functions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This new objective method is a powerful tool to use when visualising tissue activity and dynamics of musculoskeletal ultrasound registrations.</p

A pilot study using Tissue Velocity Ultrasound Imaging (TVI) to assess muscle activity pattern in patients with chronic trapezius myalgia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Different research techniques indicate alterations in muscle tissue and in neuromuscular control of aching muscles in patients with chronic localized pain. Ultrasound can be used for analysis of muscle tissue dynamics in clinical practice.</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>This study introduces a new muscle tissue sensitive ultrasound technique in order to provide a new methodology for providing a description of local muscle changes. This method is applied to investigate trapezius muscle tissue response – especially with respect to specific regional deformation and deformation rates – during concentric shoulder elevation in patients with chronic trapezius myalgia and healthy controls before and after pain provocation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients with trapezius myalgia and healthy controls were analyzed using an ultrasound system equipped with tissue velocity imaging (TVI). The patients performed a standardized 3-cm concentric shoulder elevation before and after pain provocation/exercise at a standardized elevation tempo (30 bpm). A standardized region of interest (ROI), an ellipsis with a size that captures the upper and lower fascia of the trapezius muscle (4 cm width) at rest, was placed in the first frame of the loop registration of the elevation. The ROI was re-anchored frame by frame following the same anatomical landmark in the basal fascia during all frames of the concentric phase. In cardiac measurement, tissue velocities are measured in the axial projection towards and against the probe where red colour represents shortening and red lengthening. In the case of measuring the trapezius muscle, tissue deformation measurements are made orthogonally, thus, indirectly. Based on the assumption of muscle volume incompressibility, blue represents tissue contraction and red relaxation. Within the ROI, two variables were calculated as a function of time: <it>deformation </it>and <it>deformation rate</it>. Hereafter, max, mean, and quadratic mean values (RMS) of each variable were calculated and compared before and after pain provocation/exercise.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This new methodology seems valuable when looking at local muscle changes and studying the mechanism behind chronic muscle pain. The univariate analyses indicate that patients with chronic trapezius myalgia after pain provocation due to exercise at group level showed decreased strain and unchanged strain rate while healthy controls had unchanged strain and increased strain rate. However, the multivariate analysis indicates that most patients showed lower levels according to both strain and strain rate after exercise compared to most controls.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Tissue velocity imaging can help describe musculoskeletal tissue activity and dynamics in patients with chronic pain conditions. An altered muscle tissue dynamic after pain provocation/exercise among the majority of trapezius myalgia patients compared with the healthy controls was found.</p

Longitudinal changes in ventral and dorsal neck muscle layers during loading against gravity in healthy volunteers using speckle tracking

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to describe and compare the longitudinal mechanical activity, deformation, and deformation rate of the different layers of dorsal and ventral neck muscles in healthy volunteers during head lifts against gravity. METHODS: The cross-sectional study included 19 healthy volunteers (mean age, 28 years; SD, 7 years). Ultrasound with speckle-tracking analysis was used to investigate longitudinal mechanical activation, deformation, and deformation rate of dorsal and ventral neck muscles in real time during a head lift. Significance levels were set as P = .025 or P = .0125, depending on the number of comparisons. RESULTS: The dorsal neck muscles did not significantly differ in deformation (P &gt; .04); however, the multifidus had a higher deformation rate than all other dorsal muscles (P &lt; .003). The sternocleidomastoid had significantly higher deformation than the longus capitis (P = .005) and colli (P = .001) but a lower deformation rate than the longus colli (P = .02). CONCLUSION: The sternocleidomastoid deformed more than the deeper muscles, but it did significantly slower than the longus colli. Among the dorsal muscles, the deepest (the multifidus) had the highest deformation rate

Att beskriva kronisk smärta : en lärprocess

Sammanfattningsvis syftar denna uppsats till att studera hur patienter beskriver sin smärta samt på vilka sätt de beskriver hur de utforskar sin smärta i vardagen. Jag vill med dessa beskrivningar som bakgrund lyfta fram patienters egen lärprocess om sin smärta. Avhandlingen syftar vidare till att diskutera hur vårdgivare kan lära sig av patienters smärtbeskrivningar. I detta sammanhang vill jag lyfta fram några begrepp som kan belysa hur patienterna i mina studier delger vad jag tolkar som smärtupplevelser