Relationship among Childbirth, Onset of Lower Back Pain, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Female Patients with Lower Back Pain: A Retrospective Study.

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between childbirth and lower back pain and determine the health-related quality of life of female patients with lower back pain.

Methods: A total of 111 patients were divided into three groups: those who had given birth and developed lower back pain due to pregnancy, childbirth, or child-rearing movements (childbirth group, n=41), those who had given birth and developed lower back pain due to other causes (childbirth and other cause group, n=29), and those who were nulliparous (nulliparous group, n=41). A total of 22 physical therapists evaluated the patients during initial rehabilitation.

The Impact of Spinopelvic and Hip Mobility on Passive Hip Flexion Range of Motion Assessment.

Background: Measuring passive hip flexion range of motion (ROM) is challenging due to compensatory movements. Despite the interest in using functional lateral radiographs for assessing hip mobility, the relationship with passive hip flexion ROM remains unclear. This study aims to elucidate this relationship and clarify spinopelvic parameters and mobility factors influencing variations in passive and radiographic hip flexion ROM.

Role of Acute Physiotherapy in Bilateral Medial Medullary Infarction: A Case Report.

Bilateral medial medullary infarction (BMMI) is a rare stroke syndrome, which frequently has poor clinical outcomes. Reports on physical therapy for BMMI are few because of its poor prognosis. Therefore, this report aims to present a patient who developed BMMI and underwent well-considered rehabilitation.

Japanese physical therapist's evidence-to-practice gap in knee osteoarthritis clinical practice guidelines: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: As management for osteoarthritis, clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have been published worldwide with the aim of attaining optimal treatment and rehabilitation. However, we suspect a lack of knowledge of and/or adherence to osteoarthritis CPGs in physiotherapists' clinical practice. There may be an evidence-to-practice gap in knee osteoarthritis rehabilitation among Japanese physiotherapists.

Interpreting Results from Statistical Hypothesis Testing: Understanding the Appropriate P-value.

Clinical research based on epidemiological study designs requires a good understanding of statistical analysis. This paper discusses the common misconceptions of p-values so that researchers and readers of research papers will be able to properly present and understand the results of null hypothesis significance testing (NHST). The p-values calculated by NHST are categorized as three different types: "significant at p <0.

A Randomized Controlled Trial for the Intervention Effect of Early Exercise Therapy on Axial Pain after Cervical Laminoplasty.

Introduction: Cervical isometric muscle strengthening and cervical range of motion (ROM) training are recommended after laminoplasty (LP). However, their preventive effects on axial pain are unclear. We examined whether neck extension muscle strengthening and cervical ROM training from the early postoperative period effectively suppress postoperative axial pain.

Intra-day variation in daily outdoor walking speed among community-dwelling older adults.

Background: Walking speed is an important measure associated with health outcomes in older individuals, such as dependency and death. This study aimed to examine whether the walking speed of community-dwelling older adults varies between time periods within a day, as measured outdoors in daily life. We aimed to determine the types of walking speed variations and examine the factors associated with them.

Effects of physical activity on quality of life and physical function in postoperative patients with gastrointestinal cancer.

Objectives: This study was to clarify changes in physical function and quality of life (QOL) for postoperative, and to examine the influence of the amount of physical activity on these variables.

Methods: This study included 29 patients who underwent gastrointestinal cancer surgery. The QOL measurement was used to the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire for preoperative and 2nd and 4th postoperative weeks.

Impact of low iodine density tumor area ratio on the local control of non-small cell lung cancer through stereotactic body radiotherapy.

Lung cancer with low average iodine density measured via contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) using dual-energy CT technology has shown a reduced local control rate after stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). The current study therefore investigated the relationship between low iodine density tumor area and its ratio and local recurrence after SBRT. Dual-energy CT was performed on the day before SBRT initiation, with a low iodine density tumor area being defined as that with an iodine density of <1.

Identification of multiple system atrophy mimicking Parkinson's disease or progressive supranuclear palsy.

We studied a subset of patients with autopsy-confirmed multiple system atrophy who presented a clinical picture that closely resembled either Parkinson's disease or progressive supranuclear palsy. These mimics are not captured by the current diagnostic criteria for multiple system atrophy. Among 218 autopsy-proven multiple system atrophy cases reviewed, 177 (81.

Effects of back extensor strengthening exercises on postural alignment, physical function and performance, self-efficacy, and quality of life in Japanese community-dwelling older adults: A controlled clinical trial.

Objective: To examine the changes in postural alignment and kyphosis-correlated factors after 6 months of back extensor strengthening exercise in a group of community-dwelling older adults aged ≥65 years.

Methods: We quasi-randomized 29 subjects into an intervention group treated with a back extensor strengthening program and a control group treated with a full-body exercise program. These groups completed 20-30 minutes of exercise directed by a physical therapist one or more times per week and were instructed to exercise at home as well.

Impact of cytoreductive nephrectomy in patients with primary metastatic renal cell carcinoma receiving systemic tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy: A multicenter retrospective study.

Objectives: To compare overall survival between patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated by cytoreductive nephrectomy and those not treated by cytoreductive nephrectomy.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 278 patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitors between January 2008 and November 2019. Patients were divided into two groups: a cytoreductive nephrectomy group (immediate or deferred cytoreductive nephrectomy) and a group who received systemic tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapies alone without cytoreductive nephrectomy (control group).

Predicting the consistency of intracranial meningiomas using apparent diffusion coefficient maps derived from preoperative diffusion-weighted imaging.

Objective: The consistency of meningiomas is a critical factor affecting the difficulty of resection, operative complications, and operative time. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) is derived from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and is calculated using two optimized b values. While the results of comparisons between the standard ADC and the consistency of meningiomas vary, the shifted ADC has been reported to be strongly correlated with liver stiffness.

Long-term efficacy and safety of anticoagulation after atrial fibrillation ablation: data from the JACRE registry.

Background: Catheter ablation (CA) is an important strategy for managing atrial fibrillation (AF). However, long-term anticoagulation strategies and clinical outcomes following CA, including thromboembolism and bleeding, have not yet been elucidated.

Methods: We established a prospective registry, called the JACRE registry, for patients on rivaroxaban or warfarin administration who received CA for AF.

Kinematic gait asymmetry assessment using joint angle data in patients with chronic stroke-A normalized cross-correlation approach.

Background: Gait asymmetry is an important characteristic often studied in stroke patients. Several methods have been used to define gait asymmetry using joint angles. However, these methods may require normative data from healthy individuals as reference points.

Hippocampal α-synuclein pathology correlates with memory impairment in multiple system atrophy.

Recent post-mortem studies reported 22-37% of patients with multiple system atrophy can develop cognitive impairment. With the aim of identifying associations between cognitive impairment including memory impairment and α-synuclein pathology, 148 consecutive patients with pathologically proven multiple system atrophy were reviewed. Among them, 118 (79.

Association between Daily Living Walking Speed and Walking Speed in Laboratory Settings in Healthy Older Adults.

Although there is evidence on the predictors of adverse health outcomes in older individuals, walking speed has typically been measured in laboratory settings (LWS); LWS may be distinct from individuals' actual walking speed in their daily lives (DWS). We examined whether DWS differs from LWS among older adults, and its association with physical frailty. Participants were 90 community-dwelling older adults.

HAS-BLED score as a predictor of bleeding complications from catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation: A subanalysis of the Japanese Anti-Coagulation Regimen Exploration in AF Catheter Ablation Registries.

Background: The ATRIA, Outcomes Registry for Better Informed Treatment (ORBIT), and modified (m) HAS-BLED (excluding a labile international normalized ratio element from the HAS-BLED score) scores are currently used to predict the bleeding risk in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients receiving oral anticoagulant treatment. We assessed the usefulness of these scores in estimating the catheter ablation (CA)-related bleeding risk in AF patients from the Japanese Anti-Coagulation Regimen Exploration in AF Catheter Ablation Registry (JACRE).

Methods: We investigated 1322 consecutive patients enrolled in the prospective, multicenter JACRE registry of AF patients receiving CA.

Improving diagnostic accuracy of multiple system atrophy: a clinicopathological study.

Clinical diagnosis of multiple system atrophy is challenging and many patients with Lewy body disease (i.e. Parkinson's disease or dementia with Lewy bodies) or progressive supranuclear palsy are misdiagnosed as having multiple system atrophy in life.

Developing a clinical prediction rule to identify patients with lumbar disc herniation who demonstrate short-term improvement with mechanical lumbar traction.

Objective: To develop a clinical prediction rule (CPR) that predicts treatment responses to mechanical lumbar traction (MLT) among patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH).

Method: This study was an uncontrolled prospective cohort study. The subjects included 103 patients diagnosed with LDH for which they underwent conservative therapy.

The Reliabilities of Several Measurement Methods of Cervical Sagittal Alignment in Cases with Cervical Spine Rotation Using X-ray Findings in Cervical Spine Disorders.

Introduction: Several measurement methods designed to provide an understanding of cervical sagittal alignment have been reported, but few studies have compared the reliabilities of these measurement methods. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the intraexaminer and interexaminer reliabilities of several cervical sagittal alignment measurement methods and of the rotated cervical spine using plain lateral cervical spine X-rays of patients with cervical spine disorders.

Methods: Five different measurement methods (Borden's method; Ishihara index method (Ishihara method); C2-7 Cobb method (C2-7 Cobb); posterior tangent method: absolute rotation angle C2-7 (ARA); and classification of cervical spine alignment (CCSA)) were applied by seven examiners to plain lateral cervical spine X-rays of 20 patients (10 randomly extracted cases from a rotated cervical spine group and 10 from a nonrotated group) with cervical spine disorders.

Factors affecting health-related quality of life one year after lumbar spinal fusion.

Objective: To identify preoperative factors that affect the medical outcome study 36-item short form health survey (SF-36) score 1 year after lumbar spinal fusion.

Methods: Participants were selected from among 624 patients who underwent lumbar spinal fusion between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2011 who were followed up for 1 year or more. The SF-36 version 2 was used to evaluate HRQOL.

Alteration of autophagy-related proteins in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with Parkinson's disease.

Previous postmortem studies demonstrated dysregulation of autophagy in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). To clarify whether this alteration reflects a fundamental aspect of PD or represents the final stage of autophagy dysregulation resulting from a long neurodegenerative process, we focused on basal autophagy in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of PD patients (n = 35) and controls (n = 23). The whole-transcriptome assay revealed downregulation of mRNAs for 6 core regulators of autophagy (UNC-51-like kinase [ULK] 3, autophagy-related [Atg] 2A, Atg4B, Atg5, Atg16L1, and histone deacetylase 6).

Effects and Risks of Heparin Bridging and Different Modes of Interruption/Resumption of Rivaroxaban on Perioperative Complications of Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation - Another Analysis of the JACRE-R Registry.

Background: The JACRE-R Registry, in which 42 Japanese institutions participated, monitored the efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban in catheter ablation (CA) of atrial fibrillation (AF). In the present analysis, we sought to elucidate the effects and risks of heparin bridging and different patterns of interruption/resumption of rivaroxaban on complications of CA.

Methods and results: We administered rivaroxaban during the perioperative period and recorded the incidence of complications up to 30 days after CA.