EFFECT OF THERAPEUTIC LASER IN THE MANAGEMENT OF DIABETIC NEUROPATHY PAIN

Background: Diabetes mellitus is characterized by absolute or relative insulin deficiency, hyperglycemia and development of diabetic specific micro vascular complications in retina, kidney and nerves. Micro vascular disease significantly contributes to increased morbidity and indirectly contributes to mortality through diabetic neuropathy. Pain may occur with either acute or chronic neuropathy. It results from small fibre damage. Lancinating, neuralgia - type will follow ectopic generation of nerve impulses, whereas chronic, burning pain is due to nerve is chaemia. Therapeutic laser (TL) is gaining much importance in reducing neuropathic painObjective: To find out the effect of therapeutic laser in the management of diabetic neuropathy pain by comparing with regular medication.Methods: 50 patients were selected by using lottery method of simple random sampling procedure into two groups (Group A 25 and Group B 25) equally. Group A was treated with medications (oral hypoglycemic, analgesics and anti - depressant drugs) for four weeks. Group B was treated with TL for 10mins for 4 times a week for 4 weeks with a dosage of 4J/cm 2. Their pre & post treatment values were extracted basing on modified Toronto clinical neuropathy score (mTCNS).Results: Both groups pre and post test values were extracted for four weeks and analyzed individually by using Wilcoxon signed rank test. Both groups showed variation in their scores individually. When compared between the groups by using Mann Whitney U - test, group B showed remarkable variation when compared with group A.Conclusion: TL has shown remarkable reduction in pain score of group B when compared with group A. TL is one of the best treatment modality in reducing neuropathic pain. Physiotherapists can gain access with this treatment to proliferate their practice in treating diabetic neuropathic pain. . [Ethiop.J. Health Dev. 2019; 33(2):142-144]Key words: Diabetes mellitus (DM), diabetic neuropathy (DN), low level laser irradiation(LLLI), Mc Gill Pain Questionnaire(MPQ), modified toronto clinical neuropathy score (mTCNS)

DEVELOPING A SEMI-STRUCTURED QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ADOLESCENT INTERNET USERS AND IDENTIFYING CRITERIA TO ASSESS PSYCHOSOCIAL AND OCCUPATIONAL PERFORMANCE

Abstract Background and Aim: To develop a semi-structured questionnaire and identify items relevant to adolescent internet users' psychosocial and occupational performance. Objectives: To create a semi-structured questionnaire to evaluate adolescent’s internet usage patterns. To choose the questions to be used in evaluating the psychological and academic performance of adolescents to examine adolescent’s internet usage trends. Methods: The development of the assessment tool The review looks at the literature on model of human occupation, occupational therapy practice framework, item response theory, and item development steps that are connected to psychosocial and occupational characteristics of adolescent internet users. Develop a semi-structured questionnaire and distribute it to experts for feedback, followed by preliminary testing and data analysis. Based on that, the developed questionnaire will be given to an expert focus group discussion, followed by item development and the finalization of the response adolescent internet user’s assessment tool. Results: The findings display the demographic distribution. The results of the semi-structured questionnaire revealed the following factors: The ranking of internet activities, other than Internet use, common activities first time using the internet, types, importance, time, positive, negative, and internet device item generation. Conclusions: Excessive internet use is detrimental for one's physical and mental health. The majority of adolescent internet users live in cities (46.7%); internet time consumption has increased with laziness (56%); internet access is a smartphone (93.3%); they lie down in their room with a phone or laptop before using the internet (56.7%); they play online games (50%); and they frequently watch YouTube (40%), uploading/downloading movies or songs (30%). The internet interferes with academic work, such as during class and examination hours (73.3%), and reveals any physical obstacles (63.3%)such as back pain, neck discomfort, hand pain, and eye abnormalities, as well as interrupts work/concentration (43.3%). The findings indicate a strong desire to create novel items as well as a psychosocial and occupational performance assessment tool

Awareness and Knowledge of Vertigo among the Adult Population of Selangor, Malaysia

Dizziness and vertigo are common among the adult and elderly population. However, the knowledge & awareness of vertigo and the understanding of the differences between vertigo and dizziness in the adult population is seldom studied. The present study aimed to assess the level of awareness and knowledge of vertigo among the adult population living in Selangor, Malaysia. In addition, the study also focused on the participants’ knowledge of differentiating dizziness and vertigo. This cross-sectional study received responses from 189 participants who were in the age range between 20 and 40 years among which 152 participants' responses met the inclusion criteria. A self-developed validated online questionnaire was used as a study tool to understand the awareness and knowledge of vertigo among the participants. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS (version 28) to obtain frequency and percentages. The results of the present study showed that 57.9% of participants had an average level of awareness of vertigo. Further, 55.3% disagreed that vertigo is the same as dizziness however only 6.6% of the participants were exactly able to identify the differences between vertigo and dizziness. The present study concludes an average level of awareness and knowledge of vertigo among most young adults of Selangor, Malaysia. However, the ability to differentiate vertigo from dizziness was very low among the participants, demonstrating a gap in their knowledge of vertigo. Hence, education about vertigo among the public must be ameliorated. Further studies are required on different age groups and within the other states of Malaysia

Work Place Self-Management by Academic Cum Clinical Physiotherapist – A Case Study

One of the main issues in industrialized nations is work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD), which are linked to demanding and repetitive work environments. Repetitive actions and work without leisure can lead to musculoskeletal problems. To prevent this occurrence, promoting healthy lifestyle self-care management is essential. The main objective of this case study was to assess the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in professional physiotherapist and their workplace self-management. Case Description: a case of a 39-year-old male assistant professor cum clinical practitioner with 12 years of experience in the profession, who engages in using the computer for 6 hours a day for his academic and clinical documentation purposes, was assessed in the workstation. He complains of neck and shoulder pain after engaging in front of the computer for more than one hour, which he manages during the routine practice. He manages his pain by doing simple exercises like chin tuck-in and shoulder bracing by taking a short break every hour while working on a computer. Musculoskeletal-related pain was analyzed using the VAS score (visual analogue scale), and the level of the risks was analyzed using the rapid entire body assessment (REBA) scale. The case study showed that professional physiotherapists have a high risk of MSDs due to their engagement in multiple tasks and less attention to body posture. Regular exercise in the workstation and ergonomic workplace awareness would prevent the occurrence of work-related MSD

Association of Quantitative and Qualitative Dermatoglyphic Variable and DNA Polymorphism in Female Breast Cancer Population

Objective: To investigate the association between dermatoglyphics and the DNA repair genetic variants in female breast carcinoma. Methodology: The distinct dermatoglyphic variables include ≥ six whorls, Finger ridge counts, A-B Ridge Count, ATD angle and Pattern intensity Index are analyzed for its association with the DNA repair variants namely XRCC1 Arg194Trp, XRCC3Thr241Met, ERCC4Arg 415Gln, and ERCC5 Asp1104His. The statistical procedure used to analyze the frequency of association is odds ratio and relative risk ratio. Result:The results suggests that the relative risk is about 2 to 4 times with statistical significance for breast cancer and high risk group for the genes XRCC1 Arg194Trp, ERCC4 Arg 415 Gln, ERCC5 Asp1104His in their dominant model in both breast cancer and high risk group for six or more whorls, Pattern Intensity Index, A-B RC. Conclusion: It can be suggested that dermal ridges can be used as an effective biomarker of genomic instability in breast cancer

Efficacy of vaginal weights in pelvic floor dysfunction: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) affects women's quality of life because the pelvic floor muscles are unable to contract and relax properly. Kegel exercise is the first line of treatment for PFD, while vaginal cones with weights have recently been used for pelvic floor strengthening. When compared to alternative treatments, various studies have evaluated the effectiveness of vaginal weights or cones in treating PFD. However, there are controversial conclusions reached when the effectiveness of vaginal weights is compared in various ways. The purpose of this study was determine the effectiveness of vaginal weights compared with other interventions in reducing the symptoms of PFD. Using various databases, an extensive literature search was conducted, and a randomised control trial examining the usefulness of vaginal weights in PFD was identified. PRISMA guidelines were used to synthesize the data. The risk of bias tools were used to assess the quality of the selected studies. Results suggest that vaginal cones are effective in treating PFD. However, when it was compared with other treatment modalities, no significant differences were found. Hence, the results are equivocal and cannot be generalized

Compare the Effects of Ultrasound versus Taping in Lactating Mothers with Breast Engorgement

Human milk has hundreds of milk proteins, which provides many benefits on breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is a mother’s gift to herself, her baby, and the earth, there is no substitute for mother’s milk. Milk protein is most important for baby’s growth, development and protects the baby from different illness. Colostrum is produced during early days immediately after child birth, which contains important nutrients and antibodies. Breast engorgement is a problem that is commonly encountered in breastfeeding mothers, which is to be addressed and treated to provide good milk proteins to baby, by relieving discomforts of lactating mothers. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 30 subjects based on inclusion and exclusion criteria where the subjects are divided into two groups, which contain 15 lactating mothers in each group. The control group that is group-A was treated with ultrasound, and the experimental group that is group-B was treated with ultrasound and Taping Technique. The result of the study showed that there was a significant difference between the pre- and posttest intervention, and we conclude that the ultrasound therapy and Kinesio taping was effective in treating lactating mothers with breast engorgement