Effect of Physiotherapy on the Promotion of Bone Mineralization in Preterm Infants. A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Preterm infants have a low level of bone mineralization compared to those born at term. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of reflex locomotion therapy (RLT) on bone mineralization and growth in preterm infants and compare its effect against other physiotherapy procedures. 46 preterm infants born at 29-34 weeks were randomized to three groups: One group received RLT (n=17); other group received passive movements with gentle joint compression (n=14); and control group received massage (n=15). All treatments were carried out at the neonatal unit lasting one month. The main outcome measure was the bone mineralization measured with Tibial Speed of Sound (Tibial-SOS). All groups were similar in terms of gestational age (31.8±1.18), birth weight (1,583.41±311.9), and Tibia-SOS (1,604.7±27.9), at the beginning of the intervention. At the end of the study, significant differences were found among groups in Tibial-SOS [F(4,86)=2.77, p=0.049, ηp2 = 0.114] in benefit of RLT group. In conclusion, RLT has been effective in the improvement of Tibial-SOS, and has been more effective than other physical therapy modalities; therefore it could be considered as one of the most effective physiotherapeutic modalities for the prevention and treatment of osteopenia of prematurity.

Physical therapy modalities in the rehabilitation of cats (Felis catus) with neurological and orthopedic conditions

ABSTRACT: This retrospective study described the therapeutic modalities used for the rehabilitation of cats with neurological and orthopedic diseases and provided data regarding the number of sessions, frequency, and treatment duration; the study also evaluated the modality acceptance by this species. Twenty cats were selected, 11 with neurological diseases and nine with orthopedic conditions. Acute spinal cord trauma and femoral fracture were the most frequently observed neurological (72.7%) and orthopedic (44.4%) conditions, respectively. Manual therapies comprised of passive stretching (PS), passive range of motion (PROM), and bicycle movement (BM) exercises were included in all the protocols.Therapeutic modality acceptance was positive for physical agents, thermotherapy, and hydrotherapy (100%);in manual therapies, it was positive in 40% and partially positive in 60% of cats; in kinesiotherapy, it was positive for all the assisted active exercises and negative for the active exercises. The number of physical therapy sessions significantly influenced the positive acceptance of PS (P < 0.05). The PS, PROM, and BM exercises were the most commonly used modalities; the number of physiotherapy sessions and duration of treatment were higher in cats with neurological diseases, and acceptance was positive in most therapeutic modalities.

ROS Pleiotropy in Melanoma and Local Therapy with Physical Modalities

Metabolic energy production naturally generates unwanted products such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), causing oxidative damage. Oxidative damage has been linked to several pathologies, including diabetes, premature aging, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. ROS were therefore originally anticipated as an imperative evil, a product of an imperfect system. More recently, however, the role of ROS in signaling and tumor treatment is increasingly acknowledged. This review addresses the main types, sources, and pathways of ROS in melanoma by linking their pleiotropic roles in antioxidant and oxidant regulation, hypoxia, metabolism, and cell death. In addition, the implications of ROS in various physical therapy modalities targeting melanoma, such as radiotherapy, electrochemotherapy, hyperthermia, photodynamic therapy, and medical gas plasma, are also discussed. By including ROS in the main picture of melanoma skin cancer and as an integral part of cancer therapies, a greater understanding of melanoma cell biology is presented, which ultimately may elucidate additional clues on targeting therapy resistance of this most deadly form of skin cancer.

Incorporating patient preferences into osteoarthritis treatment

Objectives: This study aims to identify the relationship between treatment modalities and the patients’ preferences in osteoarthritis (OA) treatment and identify the related factors. Patients and methods: This multi-center, cross-sectional study included a total of 305 patients with OA (66 males, 239 females; mean age: 66.4±9.7 years; range, 38 to 90 years) between July 2019 and January 2020. Data including demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients were recorded using a structured questionnaire. Results: The mostly common involvement sites were knee joints, lumbar, and cervical regions, respectively. Prior to the study, the treatment modalities which were prescribed to patients were oral drugs (79.7%), topical drugs (73.8%), home-based exercise program (62.6%), and physical therapy (outpatient) (61.3%). Of the recommended remedy, 89.2% were prescribed by physiatrists, 24.6% by orthopedists, 5.6% by family practitioners, 2.6% by neurosurgeons, and 1.6% by algologists. The most beneficial treatments (to whom) were inpatient physical therapy program (47%), oral drugs (41%), home-based exercise programs (24.9%) according to patients’ perspective. According to patient preferences, nearly half of the patients preferred outpatient physical therapy program (45.9%), oral drugs (33.1%), inpatient physical therapy (20%), and home-based exercises (18%). The most common reasons for their preferences were previous benefits from treatment (54.4%), long-term effects (38%), easy access to treatment (33.1%) and concerns about side effects (28.9%). The mostly common reasons for their preferences were previous benefits from the treatment (54.4%), long-term positive effects of physical therapy (38%), easy access to the treatment (33.1%) and concerns about side effects of drugs (28.9%). Conclusion: Besides medical regimen, the results of this study showed that the patients preferred outpatient and inpatient physical therapy modalities, and home-based exercises programs. In the light of these findings, initiation of a new prescription (e.g., drugs or physical therapy modalities) in OA patients, previous treatment modalities, and approaches are suggested to be carefully reviewed by the clinician to anticipate and improve the adherence behavior to the new treatment.

Effect of Physical Therapy Modalities on Quality of Life of Head and Neck Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

The objective was to describe the effectiveness of different physical therapy modalities to improve Quality of Life (QoL) in Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) survivors. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL and Cochrane Library were searched for randomized clinical controlled trials published until 30 April 2020. Risk of bias assessment and meta-analysis were conducted using the Cochrane tools. A total of 251 records were retrieved, and 10 met the inclusion criteria. Interventions whose parameters focus on a 12-week exercise programs of aerobic activity (walking) or Progressive Resistance Training (PRT) for the whole body are effective and safe modalities improving QoL in HNC survivors. Electrophysical agents did not show significant results between groups. As for the assessment of methodological quality, 4 of the 10 articles included had a high risk of overall bias. Only five articles provided sufficient information to conduct a meta-analysis for exercise program intervention on QoL, showing a tendency in favor of intervention group, even when the global results did not show statistically significant improvements (pooled Cohen’s d 0.15; 95% CI: −0.25 to 0.54; I2 45.87%; p heterogeneity = 0.10). The present review and meta-analysis identified meaningful benefits of exercise on QoL of HNC survivors; this has been confirmed in a meta-analysis. This review adds evidence supporting exercise interventions on Head and Neck Cancer population whose opportunities for successful recovery after medical treatment are more limited.

Physiotherapy treatment of lateral epicondylitis: A systematic review

BACKGROUND: Lateral epicondylitis is a tendinopathy with a prevalence of between 1–3% of the population aged 35–54 years. It is a pathology with a favorable evolution, but with frequent recurrences (which imply an economic extra cost). OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review was to determine the efficacy of physiotherapy treatment for the treatment of epicondylitis and, if any, to identify the most appropriate techniques. METHODS: A systematic search was carried out in October 2020 in the databases of PubMed, Cinahl, Scopus, Medline and Web of Science using the search terms: Physical therapy modalities, Physical and rehabilitation medicine, Rehabilitation, Tennis elbow and Elbow tendinopathy. RESULTS: Nineteen articles were found, of which seven applied shock waves, three applied orthoses, three applied different manual therapy techniques, two applied some kind of bandage, one applied therapeutic exercise, one applied diacutaneous fibrolysis, one applied high intensity laser, and one applied vibration. CONCLUSIONS: Manual therapy and eccentric strength training are the two physiotherapeutic treatment methods that have the greatest beneficial effects, and, furthermore, their cost-benefit ratio is very favorable. Its complementation with other techniques, such as shock waves, bandages or Kinesio® taping, among others, facilitates the achievement of therapeutic objectives, but entails an added cost.

Standardized Outcomes Measures in Physical Therapy Practice for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Cerebral PALSY: A Systematic Review

Cerebral palsy (CP) treatment includes physical therapy and various complementary therapies to the standard clinical treatment. However, there are not many reviews that focus on the methods used and evaluation procedures. This study aims to analyze which tools are most suitable for the evaluation and methodology of patients with CP treated with physical therapy. Following the PRISMA statement, through a PICOS strategy, PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, Science Direct, and Scielo were searched with the following terms: cerebral palsy AND (physical therapy modalities OR therapeutics) AND outcome assessment. The methodological quality of the RCTs was assessed with the Evidence Project risk of bias tool. Thirty-seven RCTs and six RCT protocols, comprising 1359 participants with different types of CP: spastic hemiplegia/paresis, spastic diplegia/paresis, and spastic CP, met the inclusion criteria, uncovering 21 variables measured through 77 different instruments and several interventions. The therapies most widely used in CP are gaming or technology-assisted therapies, aerobic training, hippotherapy, music therapy, gait training, and aquatic exercises. This study provides an overview of what the authors used in the neurorehabilitation field through procedure evaluation and checking the technological advance that began to be used.

Recently employed engineering techniques to reduce the spread of COVID-19 (corona virus disease 2019): a review study

<span>The main challenges of today’s global health care system are to reach to strong healthcare system, to provide effective methods to eliminate the increase in the number of dead and infected with virus of COVID-19. Therefore, during the last few months, the great importance and efficacy of a variety of engineering techniques that have greatly contributed in curbing the spread of the COVID-19, and evenly help to eliminate it according to recent scientific studies was highly prominent. Among these promising technologies in this field we mention, but not limited to, the use of ultraviolet (UV) rays to disinfection of air and surfaces. In addition, thermal imaging technology, which was employed using infrared radiation for monitoring people in crowded areas and human groups to determine who have abnormal temperatures, so that all preventive measures are taken. Robots have also been used and harnessed to perform many tasks that limit the spread of the virus and maintain the integrity of the human element. Last but not least, facial recognition techniques have also been used to limit the spread of this pandemic. Ultraviolet radiation is one of physical therapy modalities that can be used to increase the efficiency of human immune system to fight the virus. In conclusion UV radiation, infrared thermal imaging, robotics, AFR technologies are now widely used to reduce the spread of this virus and manage the outbreak.</span>