The Efficacy of a Newly Developed Cueing Device for Gait Mobility in Parkinson’s Disease

Background. External cues are effective in improving gait in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, the most effective cueing method has yet to be determined. Objective. The aim of this study was to compare the immediate effects of using visual, auditory, or somatosensory cues on their own or in combination during walking compared to no cues in people with PD. Methods. This was a single blinded, randomly selected, controlled study. Twenty people with PD with an age range of 46–79 years and Hoehn and Yahr scores of 1–3 were recruited. Participants were studied under 4 cueing conditions; no cue, visual, auditory, or somatosensory cues, which were randomly selected individually or in a combination. Results. A repeated measures ANOVA with pairwise comparisons using Bonferroni correction showed that any single or combination of the cues resulted in an improvement in gait velocity and stride length compared to no cue. Some significant differences were also seen when comparing different combinations of cues, specifically stride length showed significant improvements when additional cues were added to the light cue. The statistically significant difference was set at p<0.05. Conclusions. Walking using visual, auditory, or somatosensory cues can immediately improve gait mobility in people with PD. Any or a combination of the cues tested could be chosen depending on the ability of the individual to use that cue

Effects of aquatic exercise and land-based exercise on postural sway in elderly with knee osteoarthritis

Background: Knee Osteoarthritis (knee OA) is the most common joint disease in the elderly. It is a major cause of walking disability and balance impairment. The balance impairment or increase postural sway may result in increased risk of fall. Objectives: Compare effects of aquatic exercise and land-based exercise on postural sway and physical performance (pain, quality of life, leg muscle strength and leg muscle flexibility) in the elderly with knee OA. Subjects and methods: Fifty elderly women with knee OA were recruited for this study. They were randomized into aquatic exercise (n=25) and land-based exercise group (n=25). Postural sway views by anterior-posterior amplitude, medio-lateral amplitude, and total area were measured in subjects with eye opened or closed during double and single leg stance after six-week training, using the Force platform. Functional outcome was tested by the modified WOMAC. Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and pain scale were tested by Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Leg muscle strength was measured by chair stand, and leg muscle flexibility was measured by sit-andreach test. Aquatic group exercised at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital therapeutic pool, while landbased group exercised at home. Results: In comparing postural sway before and after exercise, reduction in postural sway and pain, and increase in strength, the aquatic group were significantly better than those for land-based group (p &lt;0.05). WOMAC, KOOS scores, and sit-and-reach test after six-weeks training were improved after exercise, but these were not significantly different between groups (p &gt;0.05). Conclusion: Elderly patients with knee OA need exercise to improve balance and reduce sway. Six-week aquatic exercise was better than land-based exercise in sway reduction

Mechanical Needling With Sterile Water Versus Lidocaine Injection for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis.

Study Design: This was a retrospective observational study that assessed the clinical outcome of ageing patients who received ultrasound-guided (USG) mechanical needling with sterile water injection. In addition, the clinical outcome of age-and gender matched patients randomly selected from patients who received needling with sterile water was compared to the patients injected with lidocaine in a 1:1 ratio.Objective: This present study aimed to explore the clinical effects of USG mechanical needling with sterile water injection for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).Methods: The data was extracted from the medical records of ageing patients with LSS who received USG injection at the lumbosacral spine by the first author. Low back pain or axial pain, and leg pain or radicular pain were assessed by the visual analogue scale, and gait ability with walking distance were obtained at six different time points.Results: A total of 4328 medical records were examined. Four thousand two hundred and twenty-eight ageing patients received mechanical needling with sterile water injection and found the efficacy lasted up to 6 months. One hundred patients were compared with 100 patients who received lidocaine injection. Those who received lidocaine had pain returned at 3 months and 6 months post-injection.Conclusions: USG mechanical needling with sterile water injection could help relieve axial and radicular pain for at least 6 months. Removal of calcification and fibrosis as well as reduction of sensitization are all possible mechanisms

Intra-Articular Facet Joint Injection of Normal Saline for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis compared the patient-reported outcomes of intra-articular facet joint injections of normal saline and selected active substances to identify a more effective agent for treating subacute and chronic low back pain (LBP). Methods: The PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and CENTRAL databases were searched for randomized controlled trials and observational studies published in English. A research quality assessment was performed using ROB2 and ROBINS-I. A meta-analysis was conducted using a random-effects model, and the mean differences (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) in efficacy outcomes, including pain, numbness, disability, and quality of life, were assessed. Results: Of the 2467 potential studies, 3 were included (247 patients). The active substances and normal saline had similar therapeutic effects on pain within 1 h, after 1–1.5 months, and after 3–6 months, with MD and 95% CI of 2.43 and −11.61 to 16.50, −0.63 and −7.97 to 6.72, and 1.90 and −16.03 to 19.83, respectively, as well as on the quality of life after 1 and 6 months. Conclusions: The short- and long-term clinical effects of intra-articular facet joint injections of normal saline are comparable to those of other active substances in patients with LBP

Nonoperative treatment for pain sensitization in patients with low back pain: protocol for a systematic review.

BackgroundLow back pain is a disability that occurs worldwide. It is a heterogeneous disorder that affects patients with dominant nociceptive, neuropathic, and central sensitization pain. An important pathophysiology of low back pain involves pain sensitization. Various nonoperative interventions are available for treatment, but there is inconclusive evidence on the effectiveness of these interventions for pain sensitization, leading to arbitrary nonoperative treatments for low back pain.MethodsWe will conduct a systematic review of RCTs evaluating the effectiveness and safety of nonoperative treatment for pain sensitization in patients with low back pain. The primary outcomes will be static quantitative sensory testing, dynamic quantitative sensory testing, and pain algometry. The secondary outcome will be adverse events. We will search the PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Cochrane Library databases. Two independent authors will screen the titles and abstracts, review full texts, extract data, assess the risk of bias, and evaluate the quality of evidence. We will qualitatively and quantitatively synthesize the results using a random effects model for meta-analysis.DiscussionThis systematic review aims to provide evidence regarding which treatment, if any, provides the greatest benefit for pain sensitization and safety among patients with low back pain. Evidence synthesized from this systematic review will inform clinical practice and further research. Since there is still a small amount of research, additional studies might need to be conducted in the future.Systematic review registrationSubmitted to PROSPERO on March 20, 2021, CRD42021244054

Effects of Repeated Injection of 1% Lidocaine vs. Radial Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy for Treating Myofascial Trigger Points: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background and Objectives: This study tested the hypothesis that treatment of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in the upper trapezius muscle (UTM) with repeated injection of 1% lidocaine results in better alleviation of muscular stiffness and soreness as well as improved metabolism in the hypercontracted MTrP area than treatment with radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT). Materials and Methods: A single-blinded, prospective, randomized controlled trial was conducted on patients suffering from MTrPs in the UTM. Thirty patients were treated with repeated injection of 2 mL of 1% lidocaine (three injections; one injection per week). Another 30 patients were treated with rESWT (three treatment sessions; one treatment session per week; 2000 radial extracorporeal shock waves per treatment session; positive energy flux density = 0.10 mJ/mm2). The primary outcome measure was pain severity using the VAS score. The secondary outcome measures included muscle elasticity index, pressure pain threshold and neck disability index. Evaluation was performed at baseline (T1), 15–30 min after the first treatment in order to register immediate treatment effects (T2), before the second treatment (i.e., one week after baseline) (T3) and one week after the third treatment (i.e., four weeks after baseline) (T4). Results: There were no statistically significant differences in the primary and secondary outcome measures between the patients in the lidocaine arm and the patients in the rESWT arm at T1 and T4. Within the arms, the mean differences of all outcomes were statistically significant (p Conclusions: The results of this pilot study suggest that the use of rESWT in patients with MTrPs in the UTM is safe and leads to reduced pain and improved muscle elasticity, pressure pain threshold and neck disability index, without adverse effects. Larger trials are necessary to verify this. Clinicians should consider rESWT instead of injections of lidocaine in the treatment of MTrPs in the UTM

Effects of Repeated Injection of 1% Lidocaine vs. Radial Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy for Treating Myofascial Trigger Points: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background and Objectives: This study tested the hypothesis that treatment of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in the upper trapezius muscle (UTM) with repeated injection of 1% lidocaine results in better alleviation of muscular stiffness and soreness as well as improved metabolism in the hypercontracted MTrP area than treatment with radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT). Materials and Methods: A single-blinded, prospective, randomized controlled trial was conducted on patients suffering from MTrPs in the UTM. Thirty patients were treated with repeated injection of 2 mL of 1% lidocaine (three injections; one injection per week). Another 30 patients were treated with rESWT (three treatment sessions; one treatment session per week; 2000 radial extracorporeal shock waves per treatment session; positive energy flux density = 0.10 mJ/mm2). The primary outcome measure was pain severity using the VAS score. The secondary outcome measures included muscle elasticity index, pressure pain threshold and neck disability index. Evaluation was performed at baseline (T1), 15&ndash;30 min after the first treatment in order to register immediate treatment effects (T2), before the second treatment (i.e., one week after baseline) (T3) and one week after the third treatment (i.e., four weeks after baseline) (T4). Results: There were no statistically significant differences in the primary and secondary outcome measures between the patients in the lidocaine arm and the patients in the rESWT arm at T1 and T4. Within the arms, the mean differences of all outcomes were statistically significant (p &lt; 0.001) when comparing the data obtained at T1 with the data obtained at T3 and the data obtained at T4. Conclusions: The results of this pilot study suggest that the use of rESWT in patients with MTrPs in the UTM is safe and leads to reduced pain and improved muscle elasticity, pressure pain threshold and neck disability index, without adverse effects. Larger trials are necessary to verify this. Clinicians should consider rESWT instead of injections of lidocaine in the treatment of MTrPs in the UTM