Physiological effects of physical therapy interventions on lumbar intervertebral discs: A systematic review.

Background Context: The use of physical therapy has been recommended in the treatment of low back pain based on primarily mechanical and neurophysiological effects. Recent studies have measured the physiological effects of physical therapy interventions, including manual therapy and traction, on the intervertebral discs (IVD), and these findings may have implications for the long-term management or even prevention of low back pain.

Purpose: The objective of this systematic review is to investigate the literature regarding possible physiological effects of physical therapy interventions on the intervertebral disc (IVD).

Shoulder injuries in rugby players: mechanisms, examination, and rehabilitation.

Background: The sport of rugby is growing in popularity for players at the high school and collegiate levels.

Objective: This article will provided the sports therapist with an introduction to the management of shoulder injuries in rugby players.

Summary: Rugby matches results in frequent impacts and leveraging forces to the shoulder region during the tackling, scrums, rucks and maul components of the game.

Examination and intervention for sinus tarsi syndrome.

Athletes with persistent anterolateral ankle discomfort may have developed sinus tarsi syndrome (STS). Sinus tarsi syndrome develops from excessive motions of the subtalar joint that results in subtalar joint synovitis and infiltration of fibrotic tissue into the sinus tarsi space. Physical therapists treating athletes with ankle conditions should examine the talocrural and subtalar joints for signs of hypermobility as injuries can affect both of these important articulations of the lower extremity.

Process for applying the international classification of functioning, disability and health model to a patient with patellar dislocation.

Background And Purpose: The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) has been proposed as a possible framework for organizing physical therapist practice. The purpose of this case report is to describe an evaluative and diagnostic process that is based on the ICF framework for a patient with a patellar dislocation.

Case Description: The patient was a 23-year-old woman who sustained a right knee and patellofemoral joint injury, resulting in a sprain of the medial collateral ligament and a suspected sprain of the medial patellofemoral ligament.

Recombinant human growth hormone and recombinant human insulin-like growth factor I diminish the catabolic effects of hypogonadism in man: metabolic and molecular effects.

Severe gonadal androgen deficiency can have profound catabolic effects in man. Hypogonadal men develop a loss of lean body mass, increased adiposity, and decreased muscle strength despite normal GH and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) concentrations. We designed these studies to investigate whether GH or IGF-I administration to male subjects with profound hypogonadism can diminish or abolish the catabolic effects of testosterone deficiency.

Insulin-like growth factor I and growth hormone (GH) treatment in GH-deficient humans: differential effects on protein, glucose, lipid, and calcium metabolism.

We examined the effects of recombinant human (rh) insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) vs. rhGH in a variety of metabolic paths in a group of eight severely GH-deficient young adults using an array of contemporary tools. Protein, glucose, and calcium metabolism were studied using stable labeled tracer infusions of L-[1-13C]leucine, [6,6-2H2]glucose, and 42Ca and 44Ca; substrate oxidation rates were assessed using indirect calorimetry; muscle strength was determined by isokinetic and isometric dynamometry of the anterior quadriceps, as well as growth factors, hormones, glucose, and lipid concentrations in plasma before and after 8 weeks of rhIGF-I (60 microg/kg, sc, twice daily), followed by 4 weeks of washout, then 8 weeks ofrhGH (12.

Testosterone deficiency in young men: marked alterations in whole body protein kinetics, strength, and adiposity.

To investigate specific effects of androgens on whole body metabolism, we studied six healthy lean men (mean +/- SEM age, 23.2 +/- 0.5 yr) before and after gonadal steroid suppression with a GnRH analog (Lupron), given twice, 3 weeks apart.

The stretch-shortening cycle of the quadriceps femoris muscle group measured by isokinetic dynamometry.

The ability to measure the stretch-shortening cycle of isolated muscle groups has been limited. The purpose of this study was to measure the stretch-shortening cycle of the quadriceps femoris muscle group. Twenty-four volunteer subjects, 12 men and 12 women, participated in one test session; five men and five women also participated in a retest session; to examine the reliability of the test.