Journal of Physiotherapy & Physical Rehabilitation

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to establish normative values for active lumbar movement in children five, seven, nine, and 11 years of age and to find the confounding factors that affect the lumbar range.

Method: End range active flexion, extension, and right- and left-side bending of the lumbar spine were measured for 400 normally developing children (200 girls, 200 boys) using dual inclinometric technique. Means were determined for each motion by age and sex. Group relationships were explored.

Results: Normative values for lumbar spine cardinal plane movements were identified. Reduced lumbar movement was found in the 11-year-old group compared with the 5-year-old group in both girls and boys. Flexibility levels were defined using percentiles as poor (<25th), moderate (between 25th and 75th), good (between 75th and 95th), and very good (>95th) respectively. The mean value for forward flexion, extension right and left lateral flexion for all participants was 55.9 + 17, 21.8 + 6, 15.2 + 5.1 and 14.9 + 5.

Conclusion: Normative data for cardinal plane movements of the lumbar spine provide therapists with a baseline for assessing spinal mobility of children of these ages.

The investigation examined the value of a multifaceted exercise intervention on body composition and strength, in those diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD). 8 males subjects diagnosed with PD (69.13 ± 6.20 years) completed a previously introduced, 8-week, 24-session exercise intervention. A repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated improvements in body composition and muscular strength following the exercise intervention. The data suggests the multifaceted exercise intervention is an effective tool for improving strength and body composition in males diagnosed with PD.

Surgical removal of third molars (3M) is a routine, low risk procedure. Common post-surgical symptoms are typically swelling, pain and trismus. Kinesiology Taping (KT) is a relatively new treatment option in musculoskeletal pathologies and some of the hypotheses of KT is that it reduces pain, oedema and increases blood flow; however current evidence does not support its use. Patient A underwent a routine removal of 3 third molars via general anaesthetic. A post-surgical lymphatic drainage KT application was applied to the patient’s lower mandible and masseter region. Results showed a significant reduction in pain, swelling and trismus was also reduced. The post op recovery time was decreased from the post op material of 10 days to 5 days; therefore suggesting that KT is potentially an effective treatment following surgical removal of wisdom teeth.

Background: The Thessaly test is a relatively recently developed meniscal test; therefore research compared to other meniscal tests is somewhat limited. In addition, a systematic review comparing the Thessaly’s test with a long standing test such as the McMurray test has not been previously conducted.

Objective: To systematically identify and appraise all empirical studies comparing the diagnostic accuracy of the Thessaly test and McMurray test.

Procedure: Eligible studies were identified through a rigorous search of ScienceDirect, CINAHL Plus, Pubmed, PEDro, EMBASE and Cochrane Library from January 2004 until August 2014. Full English reports of studies investigating the accuracy of the Thessaly test and McMurray test. Quality Assessment of Studies of Diagnostic Accuracy (QUADAS) scores were completed on each selected article.

Results: The Thessaly test reported to have higher diagnostic accuracy values (61-96%) compared to the McMurray test (56- 84%). Although McMurray test showed to have higher sensitivity in the detection of lateral meniscal tears, the Thessaly reported to more sensitive for medial and higher specificity values for both medial and lateral tears.

Limitations: All the included studies have considerable limitations related to inclusion and exclusion criteria and recording of test outcomes.

Conclusion: Higher strength of evidence studies are warranted to ensure a more robust data collection of information in addition to further investigate the diagnostic accuracy of such tests.

To examine if the use of heat at home can result in better quality and safer mobility in the elderly with gait and balance impairments.

Setting: Randomized longitudinal cross over study design in a clinical setting.

Methods: 20 people with impaired mobility (assessed as a score of more than 4 on the Stepping On questionnaire) were tested with a multi-camera gait analysis system, a treadmill with pressure sensors, a balance platform and the timed up and go and walking speed tests before and after using ThermaCare continuous heat wraps on their legs and knees for 6 days at 4 hours per day. The loss in mobility could not be due to pain killers or other drugs that reduced mobility.

Results: Muscle tremor was reduced, mobility of the joints was improved, balance was significantly improved, and gait was improved after 6 sessions of heat application on the legs. As per the literature, this should reduce the chance of falls in this population.

Conclusion: Using continuous heat wraps may be an important adjunct for improving gait in the elderly with gait impairments.