Upper lifting performance of healthy young adults in functional capacity evaluations:A comparison of two protocols

The objectives of this study were to explore the concurrent validity of test results of upper lifting tasks of the Ergo-Kit FCE and the Isernhagen Work Systems (IWS) FCE. Seventy-one healthy young adults performed 5 upper lifting tests with at least 5 min of rest in between. The lifting tests included 3 standard protocols and 2 modified protocols. Three criteria for concurrent validity were established: 1) Pearson correlation higher than .75, 2) nonsignificant two-tailed t test, and 3) mean difference smaller than 5 kg. The results showed that none of the criteria were met for the standard protocols. For the modified protocols criteria 2 and 3 were not met. Individual differences larger than 10 kg were found for both standard and modified protocols. It was concluded that the standard protocols for upper lifting tasks of the Ergo-Kit FCE and the IWS FCE do not meet the criteria for concurrent validity and can, therefore, not be used interchangeably

Symptom increase following a functional capacity evaluation in patients with chronic low back pain:An explorative study of safety

Introduction: This study was performed to study intensity and duration of symptom increase following an FCE and to explore safety of an FCE. Methods: Included were 92 patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP), mean age 38.5 years, mean self-reported disability 12.5 (Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire). All patients underwent an FCE. Symptom increase was measured with a 2-item questionnaire. Operational definition for safety: no formal complaint filed and symptom increase to occur only temporarily. Results: No formal complaints were filed (n=92). In total, 54 patients returned the questionnaire (59%; 'responders'). Of the responders, 76% reported increased symptom intensity after an FCE, ranging from 'little increase' to 'severe increase'. Symptoms of all responders returned to pre-FCE level. Duration of symptom increase of the responders ranged from 1 day to 3 weeks. Symptom increase resided to pre-FCE level within 1 week in 93% of the responders. Symptom increase was weakly related to self-reported disability (r=0.38, p <0.05). Except for gender, differences between responders and non-responders were non-significant. Conclusion: A temporary increase in symptom intensity following an FCE is common. Within the operational definitions of safety used in this study, assessment of functional capacity of patients with CLBP appears safe

Upper lifting performance of healthy young adults in functional capacity evaluations:A comparison of two protocols

The objectives of this study were to explore the concurrent validity of test results of upper lifting tasks of the Ergo-Kit FCE and the Isernhagen Work Systems (IWS) FCE. Seventy-one healthy young adults performed 5 upper lifting tests with at least 5 min of rest in between. The lifting tests included 3 standard protocols and 2 modified protocols. Three criteria for concurrent validity were established: 1) Pearson correlation higher than .75, 2) nonsignificant two-tailed t test, and 3) mean difference smaller than 5 kg. The results showed that none of the criteria were met for the standard protocols. For the modified protocols criteria 2 and 3 were not met. Individual differences larger than 10 kg were found for both standard and modified protocols. It was concluded that the standard protocols for upper lifting tasks of the Ergo-Kit FCE and the IWS FCE do not meet the criteria for concurrent validity and can, therefore, not be used interchangeably.</p

Upper lifting performance of healthy young adults in functional capacity evaluations:A comparison of two protocols

The objectives of this study were to explore the concurrent validity of test results of upper lifting tasks of the Ergo-Kit FCE and the Isernhagen Work Systems (IWS) FCE. Seventy-one healthy young adults performed 5 upper lifting tests with at least 5 min of rest in between. The lifting tests included 3 standard protocols and 2 modified protocols. Three criteria for concurrent validity were established: 1) Pearson correlation higher than .75, 2) nonsignificant two-tailed t test, and 3) mean difference smaller than 5 kg. The results showed that none of the criteria were met for the standard protocols. For the modified protocols criteria 2 and 3 were not met. Individual differences larger than 10 kg were found for both standard and modified protocols. It was concluded that the standard protocols for upper lifting tasks of the Ergo-Kit FCE and the IWS FCE do not meet the criteria for concurrent validity and can, therefore, not be used interchangeably.</p

General and Specific Self-efficacy Reports of Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: Are They Related to Performances in a Functional Capacity Evaluation?

Introduction The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship of general and specific self-efficacy (SE) beliefs with functional capacity evaluation (FCE) performances in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain (CLBP), while controlling for influence of gender, age, and self-reported pain intensity, self-esteem, disability, psychosocial distress and health status. Methods Included were 92 patients with CLBP referred to an outpatient university based multidisciplinary pain rehabilitation program in The Netherlands. All patients underwent an FCE. General SE was measured with the ALCOS questionnaire prior to the FCE, specific SE was measured with a self-constructed standardized question during the FCE. Paired samples t-tests were used to tests differences between predicted and actual performances. Pearson and Spearman rank correlation coefficients were used to express the strength of the relationships between SE and performances. Multivariate analyses were used to test the influence of control variables on the relationships between SE (general or specific) and performances. Results Performances were consistently higher than patients’ self-predictions. Differences between predictions and performances were significant in male lifting low, male carrying, and female carrying. With exception of the association between specific SE and lifting in males (r = 0.55, P < 0.05), all other correlations between general and specific SE and FCE performances were non-significant. Multivariable regression analyses showed that the relative contribution of SE measures over gender was little or none. Conclusions The contribution of specific SE to the prediction of FCE performances is moderate in one instance, and insignificant in most instances (both specific and general SE). Because of the consistency of the differences between prediction (specific SE) and performances, and depending on the level of accuracy needed, future research may deliberate the use of predicted material handling capacities at group level and correct for a systematic underprediction

Peripheral arterial volume distensibility changes with applied external pressure: significant difference between arteries with different compliance

This study aimed to quantify the different effect of external cuff pressure on arterial volume distensibility between peripheral arteries with different compliance. 30 healthy subjects were studied with the arm at two positions (0° and 45° from the horizontal level) to introduce different compliance of arteries. The electrocardiogram and finger and ear photoplethysmograms were recorded simultaneously under five external cuff pressures (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 mmHg) on the whole arm to obtain arterial volume distensibility. With the applied external cuff pressures of 10, 20, 30 and 40 mmHg, the overall changes in arterial volume distensibility referred to those without external pressure were 0.010, 0.029, 0.054 and 0.108% per mmHg for the arm at the horizontal level, and 0.026, 0.071, 0.170 and 0.389% per mmHg for the arm at 45° from the horizontal level, confirming the non-linearity between arterial volume distensibility and external pressure. More interestingly, the significant differences in arterial volume distensibility changes were observed between the two arm positions, which were 0.016, 0.043, 0.116 and 0.281% per mmHg (all P < 0.01). Our findings demonstrated that arterial volume distensibility of peripheral arm arteries increased with external pressure, with a greater effect for more compliant arteries