Effects of a physiotherapy and occupational therapy intervention on mobility and activity in care home residents: a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To compare the clinical effectiveness of a programme of physiotherapy and occupational therapy with standard care in care home residents who have mobility limitations and are dependent in performing activities of daily living.

Design: Cluster randomised controlled trial, with random allocation at the level of care home.

Setting: Care homes within the NHS South Birmingham primary care trust and the NHS Birmingham East and North primary care trust that had more than five beds and provided for people in the care categories "physical disability" and "older people.

Interrater reliability of algometry in measuring pressure pain thresholds in healthy humans, using multiple raters.

Objective: To evaluate interrater reliability using 5 newly trained observers in the assessment of pressure pain threshold (PPT) using a fixed-angle algometer.

Methods: The study design comprised 2 phases. Phase 1: 5 undergraduate physical therapists were trained in algometry at a predefined angle, at a rate of 5 Newtons (N)/s, to the first dorsal interosseous muscle.

Test-retest reliability of the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire: assessment of intraclass correlation coefficients and limits of agreement in patients with osteoarthritis.

Objectives: No previous study has adequately demonstrated the test-retest reliability of the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire, yet it is increasingly being used as a measure of pain. This study evaluates the test-retest reliability in patients with osteoarthritis.

Methods: A prospective, observational cohort study was undertaken using serial evaluation of 57 patients at 2 time points.

Effects of TENS frequency, intensity and stimulation site parameter manipulation on pressure pain thresholds in healthy human subjects.

Unlabelled: This study evaluated the effects of varying frequency, intensity and stimulation site, of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in an experimental model of pain. In a double-blind design 240 volunteers were randomised to one of six experimental TENS groups, a sham TENS or control (n=30 per group; gender balanced). Two TENS frequencies (110 or 4 Hz) and two intensities (strong but comfortable or highest tolerable) at a fixed pulse duration (200 micros) were applied at three sites relative to the measurement site (segmentally, extrasegmentally or a combination of these), for 30 min.

Level of distress in a recurrent low back pain population referred for physical therapy.

Study Design: Recruitment phase of a randomized clinical trial.

Objectives: To review the published literature on the use of the distress risk assessment method in different back pain populations and healthcare settings and compare results with those obtained from the current trial.

Summary Of Background: Psychological distress in low back pain is commonplace, and distress increases the relative risk of poor outcome with physical treatment alone.

Gender differences in pressure pain threshold in healthy humans.

Unlabelled: AIMS OF INVESTIGATION: To quantify the magnitude of putative gender differences in experimental pressure pain threshold (PPT), and to establish the relevance of repeated measurements to any such differences.

Methods: Two separate studies were undertaken. A pressure algometer was used in both studies to assess PPT in the first dorsal interosseous muscle.

Sensory stimulation (TENS): effects of parameter manipulation on mechanical pain thresholds in healthy human subjects.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a popular form of electrostimulation. Despite an extensive research base, there remains no consensus regarding the parameter selection required to achieve maximal hypoalgesic effects. The aim of this double blind, sham-controlled study was to investigate the relative hypoalgesic effects of different TENS parameters (frequency, intensity and stimulation site) upon experimentally induced mechanical pain.