Pain threshold in selected trigger points of superficial muscles of the back in young adults.

Background: Monitoring of pain threshold is the basis for verification of the effectiveness of therapy or assessment of the patient's condition. This study aimed to determine the pain threshold of selected superficial muscles of the back taking into account trigger point activity in young and healthy males and females, with the evaluation of intrarater reliability of algometric measurements.

Material And Methods: The study examined 30 young adult participants (15 males and 15 females) aged 26.

Epidemiological Aspects of Low Back Pain.

Low back pain (LBP) is a major health problem, particularly in the contemporary societies of highly developed countries. This study seeks to define the influence of basic demographic and social factors, such as gender, body mass, physical activity, and the type of work, on the occurrence of lumbosacral spine pain in the early and middle-late adulthood. The study was based on a self-reported survey, using the revised Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire to evaluate pain symptoms, and managing everyday tasks.

Perception of the role of physical and rehabilitation medicine among physiotherapy students.

Objective: To determine how the role of physical and rehabilitation medicine specialists in healthcare is perceived by physiotherapy students.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study.

Subjects: A total of 677 physiotherapy students and 519 final year medical students at the largest university-level educational institutions in Warsaw, Poland.

Preventive Chair Massage with Algometry to Maintain Psychosomatic Balance in White-Collar Workers.

People working at computers often suffer from overload-related muscle pain, and physical and mental discomfort. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of chair massage, conducted in the workplace among white-collar workers, in relieving symptoms of musculoskeletal strain related to prolonged sitting posture. The study was conducted in 124 white-collar workers, 55 women and 69 men, aged 33.

Biopsychosocial Rehabilitation Programme for Patients with Chronic Back Pain. Pilot Study.

Background: In the search for effective and comprehensive therapies of back pain, an increasing emphasis in being placed on the biopsychosocial model and multidimensional support programmes for patients as well the use of modern technologies in this area of medicine. This study aimed to assess a programme of customised ad hoc physiotherapeutic consultations for patients with back pain who had been on the waiting list for rehabilitation treatment for a long time.

Material And Method: The study group comprised 68 patients of the Rehabilitation Centre Non-Public Health Care Institution who had been waiting for rehabilitation treatment for at least three months.

The Concept of "Chair Massage" in the Workplace as Prevention of Musculoskeletal Overload and Pain.

Background: Accumulation of musculoskeletal overload experienced daily over a long period, for months or even years may lead to serious health problems. Simple, quick and easy-to-administer prophylactic and therapeutic interventions not involving complicated medical procedures can bring tangible benefits for sufferers. The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and effects of a massage programme performed during breaks at work among persons exposed to long-term overload of the spinal column and areas around the spine.

Comparison of Biocompatibility of Cemented vs. Cementless Hip Joint Endoprostheses Based on Postoperative Evaluation of Proinflammatory Cytokine Levels.

BACKGROUND The yearly increase in the number of procedures involving implantation of hip joint endoprostheses forces prosthetics manufacturers to search for biologically neutral implants. The goal of this study was to assess the concentration of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and its correlation with C-reactive protein (CRP), depending on the type of hip joint endoprosthesis (cemented or cementless endoprosthesis) in order to determine implant biotolerance during the early postoperative period. MATERIAL AND METHODS The sample comprised 200 patients [mean age=64 (31-81) years] with coxarthrosis.

A Water Rehabilitation Program in Patients with Hip Osteoarthritis Before and After Total Hip Replacement.

BACKGROUND Pain associated with coxarthrosis, typically occurring in middle-aged and elderly patients, very commonly causes considerable limitation of motor fitness and dependence on pharmacotherapy. This article provides an assessment of a rehabilitation program with tailored water exercises in patients with osteoarthritis before and after total hip replacement. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 192 patients (the mean age 61.

Strategies for Coping with Chronic Lower Back Pain in Patients with Long Physiotherapy Wait Time.

BACKGROUND Treatment efficacy for the increasing prevalence of back pain is a great challenge for both health care providers and individuals coping with this problem. This study aimed to evaluate pain coping strategies used by primary care patients with chronic lower back pain (CLBP) as a supplementation of medical diagnosis before a physiotherapy programme. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 88 people were divided into 3 age groups: young adults (21-40 years old), middle-aged adults (41-60 years old), and the elderly (over 60 years old).

Selected Aspects of Mental Health of Elderly Patients with Chronic Back Pain Treated in Primary Care Centers.

Background: Improvement of the effectiveness and efficiency of chronic back pain therapy is a continuing challenge on an international scale. The aim of the present study was to tentatively assess mental health of patients with chronic back pain treated in primary care centers.

Material And Methods: The study enrolled 100 persons over 50 years of age.

Evaluation of functional outcomes in individuals 10 years after posterior lumbar interbody fusion with corundum implants and decompression: a comparison of 2 surgical techniques.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate lumbar spine-related functional disability in individuals 10 years after lumbar decompression and lumbar decompression with posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) with corundum implants surgery for degenerative stenosis and to compare the long-term outcome of these 2 surgical techniques.

Material/methods: From 1998 to 2002, 100 patients with single-level lumbar stenosis were surgically treated. The patients were randomly divided into 2 groups that did not differ in terms of clinical or neurological symptoms.

The effect of limitation in ankle dorsiflexion on knee joint function. A pilot study.

Background: A restriction in ankle dorsiflexion is a common complication of ankle fractures. This kind of dysfunction, if severe, can significantly influence gait. A restriction in ankle dorsiflexion (forward movement of the shin relative to the foot) can cause, among others, hyperextension of the knee during the stance phase.

Pain control in patients with chronic back pain syndrome.

Background: Back pain syndrome is a common problem, not only orthopedic, but also psychological, social and economic. In research and clinical practice, the tendency to differentiate between physiological aspects of pain and the psychological, social and economic factors related to pain is dominant. The goal of this paper is to evaluate pain control perception in patients with chronic back pain syndrome.

A comparison of the perceptions and aspirations of third-year physiotherapy students trained in three educational settings in Poland.

Objectives: In Poland, physiotherapy is offered at three types of school: medical universities, universities of physical education, and schools that do not specialise in either the medical sciences or physical education. This study explored the knowledge of students who were completing their physiotherapy studies about working in Poland and other countries of the European Union (EU), and about their vocational plans. Students were asked, through self-assessment, about aspects of the professional skills they had gained.

The effectiveness of phonophoresis with ketoprofen in the treatment of epicondylopathy.

Background. This article examines the therapeutic effects of phonophoresis with ketoprofen in gel form in patients with enthesopathy of the elbow. Ultrasonic therapy and phonophoresis have their primary application in the physical therapy of this disorder.