Does transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation reduce pain and improve quality of life in patients with idiopathic chronic orchialgia? A randomized controlled trial

Sayed A Tantawy,1,2 Dalia M Kamel,3 Walid Kamal Abdelbasset4,5 1Department of Physiotherapy, Centre of Radiation, Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt; 2Department of Physiotherapy, College of Medical and Health Sciences, Ahlia University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain; 3Department of Physical Therapy for Obstetrics & Gynecology, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt; 4Department of Physical Therapy and Health Rehabilitation, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin Abdul Aziz University, Alkharj, Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Physical Therapy, Kasr Al-Aini Hospital, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt Background: Chronic orchialgia is defined as testicular pain, which may be either unilateral or bilateral, lasting for more than 3 months. It disturbs a patient’s daily activities and quality of life (QoL), inciting the patient to search for treatments to alleviate the pain. It is estimated that 25% of chronic orchialgia cases are idiopathic.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate how effective transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is in pain reduction and how it consequently affects the QoL in patients with idiopathic chronic orchialgia (ICO).Patients and methods: Seventy-one patients were randomly assigned to group A (study group), which included 36 patients who received TENS and analgesia, and group B (control group), which included 35 patients who received analgesia only. The outcome measures were the participants’ demographic data and results of the visual analog scale (VAS) and QoL questionnaire. These outcomes were measured before and after 4 weeks of treatment and at 2-month follow-up.Results: The results showed that compared to pretreatment, there was a significant reduction in pain postintervention and at 2-month follow-up in group A (P<0.0001 and <0.001, respectively; F=7.1) as well as a significant improvement in QoL at these time points (P<0.0001 and <0.0001, respectively). There were no significant differences in the VAS score and QoL in group B at different time points of evaluation.Conclusion: The findings indicate that TENS is effective in reducing pain and improving patients’ QoL in cases of ICO. TENS is an easy-to-use, effective, noninvasive, and simple method for ICO-associated pain control and QoL improvement. Keywords: orchialgia, testicular pain, TENS, pain assessment, VAS, physiotherapy, quality of life, chronic pai

Trans-perineal pumpkin seed oil phonophoresis as an adjunctive treatment for chronic nonbacterial prostatitis

Sayed A Tantawy,1,2 Hany MI Elgohary,3 Dalia M Kamel2,4 1Department of Physiotherapy, Centre of Radiation, Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt; 2Physiotherapy Department, College of Medical and Health Sciences, Ahlia University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain; 3Department of Physiotherapy for Surgery, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt; 4Department of Physiotherapy for Women’s Health, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt Background: A significant number of men who are younger than 50 years visit urologists for interminable prostatitis. This study aimed to thoroughly investigate the effect of pumpkin seed oil (PSO) phonophoresis on chronic nonbacterial prostatitis (CNBP). Subjects and methods: Sixty patients with CNBP were randomly assigned to three groups: Group A, wherein patients were treated with PSO using phonophoresis; Group B, where patients underwent trans-perineal continuous low-intensity ultrasound (LIUS); and Group C, wherein patients underwent placebo LIUS. All three groups received their corresponding treatments daily for up to 3 weeks. The NIH-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI), residual urine determined by urodynamic measurements, and flow rate were used to analyze study outcomes. The white blood cell (WBC) count in the prostatic secretion was determined. Results: Comparisons of the intragroup mean values of all measurements in Groups A and B before and after the end of the treatment showed a significant improvement in residual urine, flow rate, WBC count, and NIH-CPSI (p < 0.05), whereas no significant change was found in Group C (p > 0.05). Between-group comparisons of all variables showed a significant difference was found after intervention (p < 0.05). Postintervention comparisons between Groups A and B showed a significant difference in all measurements, except for WBC, in favor of Group A. Comparing the changes between Groups A and C, a significant difference was found in all measurements (p < 0.05). Furthermore, all parameters differed significantly when comparing Groups B and C (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The current study showed that PSO phonophoresis can produce a significant effect in the management of CNBP and can, therefore, be considered a safe, noninvasive method for the treatment of CNBP. Keywords: pumpkin seeds oil, phonophoresis, ultrasound, physiotherapy, cucurbita pepo, chronic non-bacterial prostatiti

Effects of a proposed physical activity and diet control to manage constipation in middle-aged obese women

Sayed A Tantawy,1,2 Dalia M Kamel,2,3 Walid Kamal Abdelbasset,4,5 Hany M Elgohary6 1Department of Physiotherapy, Centre of Radiation, Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt;2Department of Physiotherapy, College of Medical and Health Sciences, Ahlia University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain; 3Department of Physiotherapy of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt; 4Department of Physical Therapy and Health Rehabilitation, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin Abdul Aziz University, Alkharj, Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Physical Therapy, Kasr Al-Aini Hospital, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt; 6Department of Physical Therapy for Surgery, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt Background: Obesity is very common worldwide and is related to critical morbidity and mortality. It has a large number of impacts on the human body. Constipation has a prevalence from 4% to 29% in various parts of the world and is considered to be a major health problem, with an estimated incidence of 5% in males and 15% in females. There is a strong association between obesity and constipation. This study aimed to investigate the effect of physical activity and a low-calorie diet on constipation in middle-aged obese women. Methods: This study included 125 obese women (age 20–40 years) who had chronic constipation. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups. Group A included 62 women who received a suggested protocol of physical activity, a low-calorie diet, and the routine standard care for constipation, whereas Group B included 63 women who received only the standard medical care for constipation and a low-calorie diet. Both groups followed the program for 12 weeks. Changes in the Patient Assessment of Constipation Symptoms (PAC-SYM) and Patient Assessment Quality of Life (PAC-QOL) scores, and in the body mass index (BMI) were recorded in study subjects, both at baseline and at the end of the study program. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in the baseline characteristics of patients in the two groups. After 12 weeks of intervention, both groups showed significant intragroup differences (p < 0.05) in all of the measured variables, except the BMI which showed a nonsignificant difference (p > 0.05) in Group B. Between-groups comparison showed significant differences (p < 0.05) in all of the measured parameters in favor of Group A. Conclusion: Physical activity and weight reduction improve PAC-SYM and PAC-QOL scores in middle-aged, premenopausal women with constipation in the short term (up to 12 weeks). Keywords: constipation, physical activity, obesity, low-calorie diet, patient assessment quality of lif