Incidental durotomy in lumbar decompressive surgery: incidence and risk-factors, and the effect of durotomy on hospital and patient metrics.

Purpose: To evaluate incidental lumbar durotomy incidence and risk-factors, and the association of durotomy with perioperative metrics and patient-reported outcomes.

Methods: A total 3140 cases of 1-3 level elective decompressive surgery from 2008 to 2023 at a single centre were included. Multivariable analysis was performed on literature derived variables to identify independent risk-factors for durotomy.

Development and temporal validation of clinical prediction models for 1-year disability and pain after lumbar decompressive surgery. The Norwich Lumbar Surgery Predictor (development version).

Purpose: To identify clinical predictors and build prediction models for 1-year patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs) after lumbar decompressive surgery for disc herniation or spinal stenosis.

Methods: The study included 1835 cases, with or without additional single-level fusion, from a single centre from 2008 through 2020. General linear models imputed with 37 clinical variables identified 18 significant 1-year PROM predictors for retention in development models.

The effects of Pilates exercise in comparison to other forms of exercise on pain and disability in individuals with chronic non-specific low back pain: A systematic review with meta-analysis.

Objective: To compare the effects of Pilates exercise (PE) with other forms of exercise on pain and disability in individuals with chronic non-specific low back pain (CNSLBP) and to inform clinical practice and future research.

Study Design: Systematic review with meta-analysis conducted and reported in line the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-analysis.

Literature Search: Six electronic databases were searched from inception to April 2021.

Incidence and risk factors for five-year recurrent disc herniation after primary single-level lumbar discectomy.

To identify the incidence and risk factors for five-year same-site recurrent disc herniation (sRDH) after primary single-level lumbar discectomy. Secondary outcome was the incidence and risk factors for five-year sRDH reoperation. A retrospective study was conducted using prospectively collected data and patient-reported outcome measures, including the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), between 2008 and 2019.

In pursuit of 'safe' water: the burden of personal injury from water fetching in 21 low-income and middle-income countries.

Introduction: Water fetching for household needs can cause injury, but documentation of the burden of harm globally has been limited. We described the frequency, characteristics and correlates of water-fetching injuries in 24 sites in 21 low-income and middle-income countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Methods: In a survey of 6291 randomly selected households, respondents reported whether and how they had experienced water-fetching injuries.

The association of water carriage, water supply and sanitation usage with maternal and child health. A combined analysis of 49 Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys from 41 countries.

Background: Millions of people carry water home from off-plot sources each day and lack improved sanitation. Research on the health outcomes associated with water fetching is limited, and with usage of improved sanitation is inconclusive.

Objectives: To analyse the association of water fetching, unimproved water supplies, and usage of improved sanitation facilities with indicators of women's and children's health.

Is water carriage associated with the water carrier's health? A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative evidence.

Introduction: The work of carrying water falls mainly on women and children, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and rural areas. While concerns have been raised, how water carriage is associated with health of the water carrier is not clear. The aim of this review is to summarise evidence on whether, and how, water carriage is associated with the water carrier's health.

Advancing methods for research on household water insecurity: Studying entitlements and capabilities, socio-cultural dynamics, and political processes, institutions and governance.

Household water insecurity has serious implications for the health, livelihoods and wellbeing of people around the world. Existing methods to assess the state of household water insecurity focus largely on water quality, quantity or adequacy, source or reliability, and affordability. These methods have significant advantages in terms of their simplicity and comparability, but are widely recognized to oversimplify and underestimate the global burden of household water insecurity.

Carrying water may be a major contributor to disability from musculoskeletal disorders in low income countries: a cross-sectional survey in South Africa, Ghana and Vietnam.

Background: The Sustainable Development Goals include commitments to end poverty, and promote education for all, gender equality, the availability of water and decent work for all. An important constraint is the fact that each day, many millions of women and children, and much less frequently men, carry their household's water home from off-plot sources. The burden of fetching water exacerbates gender inequality by keeping women out of education and paid employment.

A time for action: Opportunities for preventing the growing burden and disability from musculoskeletal conditions in low- and middle-income countries.

Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions cause an enormous global burden, and this is dramatically increasing in developing countries, particularly due to rapidly ageing populations and increasing obesity. Many of the global non-communicable disease (NCD) initiatives need to expand beyond the traditional 'top four' NCD groups by incorporating MSK diseases. It is critical that MSK initiatives in developing countries integrate well with health systems, rather than being stand-alone.

Users' experiences of physiotherapy treatment in a semi-urban public hospital in Kenya.

Introduction: Physiotherapy practice in Africa faces a number of challenges, one of which is the limited number of therapists in most public hospitals. In Africa, physiotherapy is still mainly institution based with very little community-based practice, leading to lack of access to services for a large part of the population. This study explores users' perceptions of physiotherapy, challenges faced by users, possible options for management, and determines whether current physiotherapy practice in a rural Kilifi District general hospital in Kenya facilitates future self-management of chronic conditions.

Survey of rehabilitation support for children 0-15 years in a rural part of Kenya.

Purpose: Information regarding the nature, availability and distribution of rehabilitation services for children with disabilities across developing countries is scarce, and data that do exist are of variable quality. If planning and development are to progress, information about service provision is vital. The aim was to establish the scope and nature of rehabilitation support available to children with disabilities (0-15 years) and their families in rural Kenya.

A systematic review investigating the efficacy of laterally wedged insoles for medial knee osteoarthritis.

A conservative management strategy for knee osteoarthritis is the lateral wedge insole (LWI). The theoretical basis for this intervention is to correct tibiofemoral malalignment, thereby reducing pain and optimising function. This systematic review evaluates the evidence on the effectiveness and safety of LWI for the treatment for knee osteoarthritis.

Meta-analysis identifies Back Pain Questionnaire reliability influenced more by instrument than study design or population.

Objective: To assess if predefined variables in study design, instrument type, and patient characteristics account for variance in reported retest reliability for the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Roland-Morris Questionnaire (RMQ). A second aim was a more precise estimate of instrument reliability.

Study Design And Setting: A systematic literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, PsycINFO, and CINAHL was performed from inception to January 2011.

Caring for children with physical disability in Kenya: potential links between caregiving and carers' physical health.

Background: The health of a carer is a key factor which can affect the well-being of the child with disabilities for whom they care. In low-income countries, many carers of children with disabilities contend with poverty, limited public services and lack assistive devices. In these situations caregiving may require more physical work than in high-income countries and so carry greater risk of physical injury or health problems.

The diagnostic accuracy of MRI for the detection of partial- and full-thickness rotator cuff tears in adults.

This study assessed the diagnostic test accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the detection of partial- and full-thickness rotator cuff tears in the adult population. A systematic review was conducted of the following electronic databases: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, Embase, CINAHL, AMED, ISI Web of Science, Current Controlled Trials, National Technical Information Service, the National Institute for Health Research Portfolio, the UK National Research Register Archive and WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform database and reference lists of articles. All studies assessing the sensitivity and/or specificity of MRI for adult patients with suspected rotator cuff tear where surgical procedures were the reference standard were included in the study.

Domestic water carrying and its implications for health: a review and mixed methods pilot study in Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Background: Lack of access to safe water remains a significant risk factor for poor health in developing countries. There has been little research into the health effects of frequently carrying containers of water. The aims of this study were to better understand how domestic water carrying is performed, identify potential health risk factors and gain insight into the possible health effects of the task.

How do children perceive health to be affected by domestic water carrying? Qualitative findings from a mixed methods study in rural South Africa.

Background: Nearly 50% of South African children lack access to clean safe water and many regularly carry water loads. The health effects of carrying water have not been well researched or considered when estimating the burden of disease due to suboptimal water supply. Improved access to safe water has potential to create important health and economic benefits, by reducing childhood exposure to risk factors for injury or disease.

Power grip, pinch grip, manual muscle testing or thenar atrophy - which should be assessed as a motor outcome after carpal tunnel decompression? A systematic review.

Background: Objective assessment of motor function is frequently used to evaluate outcome after surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). However a range of outcome measures are used and there appears to be no consensus on which measure of motor function effectively captures change. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify the methods used to assess motor function in randomized controlled trials of surgical interventions for CTS.