The role of ultrasound in the recovery of patients with knee osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a condition that causes pain and invalidity in people over 40. The patient feels pains, limitation of mobility, physical dysfunction, joint cramps, in stability and walking disorders. The study aims at assessing the effects of ultrasound application and at quantifying the results obtained in order to increase the patients’ quality of life that were diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis. The objectives pursued in the study were: to reduce pain, to keep /increase joint mobility, to increase muscle strength, to reduce in stabilit, to minimize physical disability and to increase the patients’ quality of life. The study was conducted in an ambulatory regime and respected ethical and deontological principles. The patients’ assessment was performed at the beginning and at end of the treatment after 10 days and at the examination after 45 days. In the patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis it was found that the use of combined ultrasound, pulsed formed and kinetotherapy treatment in the study group allowed, in addition to the pain reduction, also the mobility and joint function increase, compared only to the kinetotherapy applied to the control group

Interrelation of risk factors and occurrence of a possible fracture in patients with osteoporosis

Introduction Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by low bone mass and structural damage to bone tissue, leading to bone fragility and increased susceptibility to fractures. In Romania, menopause was found 10 years earlier than the internationally accepted limit, which increases the risk of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is the result of bone loss that correlates with age and can begin after the 4th decade of life. Material and method. The study was conducted over a 12-month period in a total of 29 female patients diagnosed with osteoporosis. The study was conducted in an ambulatory regime and respected ethical and deontological principles. The demographic data of the study group consisted of age, lifestyle, professional training, body mass index. Pain (visual analogue scale), lumbar mobility (Schober test), patients’ quality of life (QOL scale) were also evaluated. Clinical data correlated with bone mineral density (DEXA test). Patients received drug therapy with bisphosphonates. Results. The patients participating in the study were 62 years old (62 ± 5.51). Depending on the living environment, there was a higher rate of osteoporosis in the rural area with 15 patients (51.72%) than the urban one with 14 patients (48.28%). The values of the t-student test were statistically significant for the spine in the study group (p = 0.002) and the control group (p = 0.0001) Conclusions. The study was based on the use of diagnostic utility indices such as bone mineral density, the data correlated with the DEXA investigation and the risk of fracture, but also on the evaluation of risk factors influencing the possible production of a fracture in a person with osteoporosis. Applying a physical exercise program can influence the patient's physical and mental condition with osteoporosis, lowering morbidity and increasing the quality of lif

The study on the importance of effects after the ultrasound use in the recovery of patients with lower lumbar discopathy

The low back pain is a public health problem, affecting the adult population and the young one. It is estimated that 90% of the population will experience at least one episode of lower lumbar pain during their lifetime, half of whom may have a second painful episode during the same year. Frequently, the mechanical cause (the pain is somatic and deep, caused by lesions in the musculoskeletal tendon or ligament, in non-specific degenerative or inflammatory diseases) but also the psychosocial factors are incriminated. In low back pain, ultrasounds were used for the analgesic effect, muscle relaxing and for the hyperemia effect. The paper has as purpose the study of the effects of applying ultrasound in relieving symptoms of the low back pain. The physical therapy had the purpose of relaxing the muscles in the sub-acute phase, stretching the paravertebral muscles, relaxing the pelvis, toning the abdominal muscles, stretching the psoas-iliac and the sciatic muscles. All the patients received pharmacological treatment consisting in non-steroidal, neurotrophic anti-inflammatory medicines. The evaluation of the patients was performed at the beginning and at the end of the treatment after 10 days and at the examination after 3 months. For the two groups (study and control), the assessment was made on the basis of some indices and scales, where statistically significant results were obtained in both groups, especially for the group receiving the ultrasound treatment (the pulsed form to avoid the thermal effect ) and kinetotherapy

The effects of 6-weeks program of physical therapeutic exergames on cognitive flexibility focused by reaction times in relation to manual and podal motor abilities

The main purpose of the study was to identify the level of improvement in cognitive flexi-bility manifested by choice and cognition reaction times in relation to manual and podal skills as a result of the implementation of a program of therapeutic exergame exercises, for a time interval of 6 weeks at the level of students. 511 students participated in the cross-sectional study, of which 279 male (54.6%) and 232 female (45.4%), divided into two groups: the experimental group 266 (521%) subjects and the control group 245 (48%) sub-jects. The implementation of the experimental program comprising of 8 physical thera-peutic exergames took place for 6 weeks, in one session per week, within the physical edu-cation lessons, only for the male and female experimental groups. In the initial and final testing session, 2 standardized tests were applied: TMT part A, B and 2 tests adapted for this study: Square Test and 25 Squares Test. The progress registered by the male and fe-male experimental groups was statistically significant. In all tests, the experimental groups showed higher progress compared to the control groups. Depending on the gender differences, it was found that the male experimental and control groups made better pro-gress compared to the female groups in the following tests: TMT part A, Square Test, 25 Squares Tests. The implementation of a physical therapeutic exergame program deter-mined the improvement of cognitive flexibility man-ifested by choice and cognitive reac-tion times in conditions of manual and podal motor skills, demonstrating the effective-ness of exergame technologies adapted and implemented for prophy-lactic purpose

The importance of the elemental functional mobility coefficient in assessing the functional status of the coxofemoral joint

Introduction. The coxarthrosis is a degenerative disorder in the coxofemoral joint, more common in adults aged 40-70 years. The coxofemoral arthritis is important in static and locomotion. Motivation. The need to evaluate the functional recovery level of the patients diagnosed with primary coxarthrosis by using the elemental functional mobility coefficient. Material and method. There have been studied 61 patients clinically and imagistically diagnosed with coxarthrosis. They were clinically and functionally assessed by performing joint balance and calculating the elemental functional coefficient for the flexion movement at the coxofemoral level. Pain was appreciated by using the VAS scale. The medical recovery allowed results on joint function, pain management and increased psychosocial quality. Results. By applying the complex recovery therapy (electrotherapy, massage, kinetic therapy), it is attempted to prevent or slow down the deterioration of the function. The constant continual physical activity (the individualized kinetic program) could reduce the risk of a metabolic disease and the occurrence of degenerative diseases. Conclusions. The statistical analysis of the studied indicators shows statistically significant results for the VAS scale in both groups. The application of the kinetic therapy program has favorable effects on the joint function, demonstrated for the flexion movement

The importance of physical exercise-bone mass density correlation in reducing the risk of vertebral and non-vertebral fracture in patients with osteoporosis

Introduction. Osteoporosis is a systemic health condition, predominantly in the skeleton, characterized by the decreasing bone strength and bone density as well as by the modification of this structure, being prone to an increased fracture risk. The bone strength of the bone depends on the density and quality of the bone. The bone density was measured by DEXA imagery investigation which uses the dual absorptiometry by X-rays.Material and method. The study was conducted over a period of one year on a total of 30 patients diagnosed with osteoporosis, age 50-70 years. For the assessment of the pain, the visual analogue-VAS scale was used to assess the quality of life - the Qualeffo-41 questionnaire and for assessing fracture risk - the FRAX scorer. The bone mineral density was assessed by the DEXA assay in the lumbar spine and femur using the T score. The patients received pharmacological treatment with bisphosphonates and performed a kinetotherapy program 2 times a week.Results. Patients participating in the study were 60 years old. The repartition depending on the life environment has revealed a greater frequency of the disorder in rural areas than the urban area. The values of the T-student test were statistically significant for the spine (p=0.0006) and for the hip (p=0.03)Conclusions. Research was based on the use of diagnostic utility indices such as bone mineral density, data that correlate with DEXA investigation and fracture risk. Determination of fracture risk with the FRAX score is important in order to identify those patients who need therapy and at the same time to assess the efficiency/cost ratio for the applied therapy. Osteoporosis is a public health problem requiring early diagnosis to optimize therapeutic strategie

CLINICAL-STATISTICAL STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ULTRASOUND COMBINED WITH LASER IN OUTPATIENT TREATMENT

This paper summarizes the results of a study conducted in order to determine the benefit of combined laser and ultrasound treatment applied in patients undergoing ambulatory rehabilitation treatment within Fiziomed Recovery Practice in Botosani. There have been evaluated patients aged 20-80 years old, who received rehabilitation treatment within this private practice between April 2009-May 2012. A number of 386 patients with post-traumatic disorders and other myofascial tissue disorders have been taken into study. The objectives of the complex rehabilitation programme are: restoring and preserving the main myo-arthropod-kinetic parameters, reducing pain syndrome, in order to increase patients’ quality of life