The effects of supported employment interventions in populations of people with conditions other than severe mental health: a systematic review.

Aim: To assess the effectiveness of supported employment interventions for improving competitive employment in populations of people with conditions other than only severe mental illness.

Background: Supported employment interventions have been extensively tested in severe mental illness populations. These approaches may be beneficial outside of these populations.

Shared decision making by United Kingdom osteopathic students: an observational study using the OPTION-12 instrument.

Background: At the crux of patient centred care is Shared Decision Making (SDM), which benefits patient and practitioner. Despite external pressures, studies indicate that SDM remains poorly practised across a variety of healthcare professions. The degree of SDM engagement within United Kingdom osteopathic undergraduate teaching clinics is currently unknown.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria used in non-specific low back pain trials: a review of randomised controlled trials published between 2006 and 2012.

Background: Low back pain is a common health complaint resulting in substantial economic burden. Each year, upwards of 20 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating interventions for non-specific low back pain are published. Use of the term non-specific low back pain has been criticised on the grounds of encouraging heterogeneity and hampering interpretation of findings due to possible heterogeneous causes, challenging meta-analyses.

Quiet dissent: The attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of UK osteopaths who reject low back pain guidance - A qualitative study.

Introduction: Clinical guidelines are derived from best research evidence and aim to: improve quality of non-specific low back pain (nsLBP) management and identify patients at risk of suffering chronic pain. However, guideline discordant attitudes and beliefs have been identified in healthcare students and practitioners, including osteopaths.

Design: A qualitative approach with elements of grounded theory was used to explore underlying attitudes and beliefs of practitioners/students working in a British osteopathic education institution.

The Power of Low Back Pain Trials: A Systematic Review of Power, Sample Size, and Reporting of Sample Size Calculations Over Time, in Trials Published Between 1980 and 2012.

Study Design: A systematic review of nonspecific low back pain trials published between 1980 and 2012.

Objective: To explore what proportion of trials have been powered to detect different bands of effect size; whether there is evidence that sample size in low back pain trials has been increasing; what proportion of trial reports include a sample size calculation; and whether likelihood of reporting sample size calculations has increased.

Summary Of Background Data: Clinical trials should have a sample size sufficient to detect a minimally important difference for a given power and type I error rate.

A Systematic Review of Outcome Measures Use, Analytical Approaches, Reporting Methods, and Publication Volume by Year in Low Back Pain Trials Published between 1980 and 2012: Respice, adspice, et prospice.

Background: Increasing patient-reported outcome measures in the 1980s and 1990s led to the development of recommendations at the turn of the millennium for standardising outcome measures in non-specific low back pain (LBP) trials. Whether these recommendations impacted use is unclear. Previous work has examined citation counts, but actual use and change over time, has not been explored.

Myofascial techniques: What are their effects on joint range of motion and pain? - A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Background: This systematic review aimed to determine the evidence for the effect of a single manually applied myofascial technique (MFT) on joint range of motion (JROM) and pain in non-pathological symptomatic subjects.

Methods: Authors independently searched the following databases: PEDro; Cochrane Library; NLM PubMed; EMBASE; Academic Search Premier; MEDLINE; Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection; PsycINFO; SPORTSDiscus; CINAHL Plus from 2003 to 2015. All randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that used JROM as an outcome measure were identified.

Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism in a Mountain Guide: Awareness, Diagnostic Challenges, and Management Considerations at Altitude.

High intensity exercise is associated with several potentially thrombogenic risk factors, including dehydration and hemoconcentration, vascular trauma, musculoskeletal injuries, inflammation, long-distance travel, and contraceptive usage. These are well documented in case reports of venous thrombosis in track and field athletes. For mountaineers and those working at high altitude, additional risks exist.

The effect of journal impact factor, reporting conflicts, and reporting funding sources, on standardized effect sizes in back pain trials: a systematic review and meta-regression.

Background: Low back pain is a common and costly health complaint for which there are several moderately effective treatments. In some fields there is evidence that funder and financial conflicts are associated with trial outcomes. It is not clear whether effect sizes in back pain trials relate to journal impact factor, reporting conflicts of interest, or reporting funding.

A systematic review and meta-synthesis of the impact of low back pain on people's lives.

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a common and costly problem that many interpret within a biopsychosocial model. There is renewed concern that core-sets of outcome measures do not capture what is important. To inform debate about the coverage of back pain outcome measure core-sets, and to suggest areas worthy of exploration within healthcare consultations, we have synthesised the qualitative literature on the impact of low back pain on people's lives.

Anatomical landmark position--can we trust what we see? Results from an online reliability and validity study of osteopaths.

Background: Practitioners traditionally use observation to classify the position of patients' anatomical landmarks. This information may contribute to diagnosis and patient management.

Objectives: To calculate a) Inter-rater reliability of categorising the sagittal plane position of four anatomical landmarks (lateral femoral epicondyle, greater trochanter, mastoid process and acromion) on side-view photographs (with landmarks highlighted and not-highlighted) of anonymised subjects; b) Intra-rater reliability; c) Individual landmark inter-rater reliability; d) Validity against a 'gold standard' photograph.

What puts the adverse in 'adverse events'? Patients' perceptions of post-treatment experiences in osteopathy--a qualitative study using focus groups.

Patients commonly report mild to moderate effects following all forms of manual therapy. These are often regarded as adverse events by practitioners but there is limited evidence on how patients view their post-treatment experiences, and what meaning they ascribe to them. This qualitative study used three focus group discussions (19 participants) to explore osteopathic patients' perspectives; a framework approach was used to analyse the data.