The flexion relaxation phenomenon in nonspecific chronic low back pain: prevalence, reproducibility and flexion-extension ratios. A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: The flexion relaxation phenomenon (FRP) is characterized by the reduction of paraspinal muscle activity at maximum trunk flexion. The FRP is reported to be altered (persistence of spinal muscle activity) in nonspecific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP) and is considered a promising biomarker. The aim of this systematic review was to synthetize current knowledge on FRP in the NSCLBP population regarding prevalence, the reliability of FRP measurement using surface electromyography (sEMG), the average value, and variation of the relaxation ratios (RR).

Botulinum Toxin A for Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome: A Retrospective Study of 16 Upper- and Lower-Limb Cases.

Objective: To assess initial and mid-term efficacy of botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) injections in patients with chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS) in the lower and upper limbs.

Design: Retrospective monocentric study.

Setting: A University Hospital Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

A tool to improve functional outcome assessment of a multimodal program for patients with chronic low back pain: A study on walk tests (at comfortable and fast speed).

Background: Tools for functional assessment of chronic low back pain (LBP) are lacking.

Objective: To determine the correlations and the responsiveness of the 400 m comfortable walk test (400 mCWT) and the 200 m fast-walk test (200 mFWT) in the functional assessment of a multimodal program.

Methods: One hundred and twenty-seven participants (68 females) with LBP and with or without radicular pain completed a Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale, a Sorensen test, a Shirado test, a 400 mCWT and a 200 mFWT, at baseline and at the end of the program.

Age-Related Adaptations of Lower Limb Intersegmental Coordination During Walking.

Lower-limb intersegmental coordination is a complex component of human walking. Aging may result in impairments of motor control and coordination contributing to the decline in mobility inducing loss of autonomy. Investigating intersegmental coordination could therefore provide insights into age-related changes in neuromuscular control of gait.

Walking Speed as an Alternative Measure of Functional Status in Patients with Lumbar Spinal Stenosis.

Objective: The main objective was to compare estimated walking perimeter (WP) and actual WP during a free walking test (6-minute walk test [6MWT]) in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). The second objective was to describe the correlation between measured gait parameters and functional parameters.

Methods: This was a single-center prospective study including 38 patients with symptomatic LSS (23 men, 15 women; mean age, 69.

Training with FES-assisted cycling in a subject with spinal cord injury: Psychological, physical and physiological considerations.

Context: People with spinal cord injury (SCI) experience the effects of a sedentary lifestyle very early on. Literature data suggest that programs using FES-assisted cycling would contribute to reduce the consequences of physical inactivity. The objective was to assess the feasibility of 12-month training on a FES-assisted bike of a subject with paraplegia for 21 years, T3, Asia Impairment Scale (AIS) A.

Number of raised steps: A tool to assess brief and intense effort involving anaerobic metabolism.

Background: Although the initial anaerobic component of exercise adaptation is unavoidable, no specific functional test is available for use in routine non-sporting practice to evaluate it.

Objective: To assess the bioenergetic and biomechanical properties of the Short and Fast Step Test (SFST), which consists of walking up and down a step as many times as possible in 1minute and to analyse its ability to explore the initial anaerobic component of effort in comparison to a reference self-paced step test.

Methods: Overall, 31 healthy subjects (19 women; mean [SD] age, 32.

Microcirculatory Assessment of Arterial Below-Knee Stumps: Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Versus Transcutaneous Oxygen Tension-A Preliminary Study in Prosthesis Users.

Objective: To examine metrologic properties of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) versus transcutaneous oxygen tension (TcPO) for microcirculatory assessment of vascular transtibial stumps at the stabilized period of prosthesis fitting, as a preliminary step before exploring its ability to predict stump healing, considering the previously identified limits of TcPO (borderline area between 15 and 35mmHg).

Design: Prospective single-center observational study.

Setting: University-based rehabilitation center.

Fixed-distance walk tests at comfortable and fast speed: Potential tools for the functional assessment of coronary patients?

Objectives: There is ambiguity concerning the walk tests available for functional assessment of coronary patients, particularly for the walking speed. This study explores the psychometric properties of two walking tests, based on fixed-distance tests, at comfortable and fast velocity, in stabilized patients at the end of a cardiac rehabilitation program.

Methods: At a three-day interval 58 coronary patients (mean age of 64.

Assessment tools for personalizing training intensity during cardiac rehabilitation: Literature review and practical proposals.

Exercise training, associated with therapeutic education, is the main axis of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs. The aim of this study was to review the literature for descriptions of the various assessments of exercise tolerance used to prescribe exercise intensity during CR. A secondary objective was to attempt to formulate a rational practice with these assessments in CR programs.

One year of training with FES has impressive beneficial effects in a 36-year-old woman with spinal cord injury.

Context: Reductions of muscular and cardiorespiratory functions are often observed in people with spinal cord injury (SCI) and several studies demonstrated the benefits of aerobic and strengthening exercise training for this population. Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) of paralyzed muscles has been proposed as a strategy to assist patients in executing functional movement but its utilization during long durations has never been investigated. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of a one-year training program with FES (strengthening and rowing) in one subject with SCI.

The Log book for the secondary prevention of coronary artery disease: A pilot study.

Introduction: In secondary prevention (SP) of coronary artery disease (CAD), in particular after an acute myocardial infarction (MI), a better knowledge and self-management by the patient may have various supports. The Log book (LB) for CAD patients in Côte d'Or, was created in 2010 by a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals of Côte d'Or, from a regional care network. This pilot study evaluated LB as novel support for SP after acute MI.

Transcultural validation of the SIGAM mobility grades in French: The SIGAM-Fr.

Background: The main French language scales evaluating functioning after lower-limb amputation have not undergone exhaustive psychometric validation.

Objective: A transcultural validation of the Special Interest Group in Amputee Medicine (SIGAM) mobility grades questionnaire, with 21 closed questions, as an administered questionnaire.

Methods: The questionnaire translation, back-translation and original-author validation was followed by a pretest with 5 patients to check comprehension.

Cross-talk correction method for knee kinematics in gait analysis using principal component analysis (PCA): a new proposal.

Background: In 3D gait analysis, the knee joint is usually described by the Eulerian way. It consists in breaking down the motion between the articulating bones of the knee into three rotations around three axes: flexion/extension, abduction/adduction and internal/external rotation. However, the definition of these axes is prone to error, such as the "cross-talk" effect, due to difficult positioning of anatomical landmarks.

A study of the 200-metre fast walk test as a possible new assessment tool to predict maximal heart rate and define target heart rate for exercise training of coronary heart disease patients.

Objective: To develop a new predictive model of maximal heart rate based on two walking tests at different speeds (comfortable and brisk walking) as an alternative to a cardiopulmonary exercise test during cardiac rehabilitation.

Design: Evaluation of a clinical assessment tool.

Setting: A Cardiac Rehabilitation Department in France.

Poststroke disposition and associated factors in a population-based study: the Dijon Stroke Registry.

Background And Purpose: The organization of poststroke care will be a major challenge in coming years. We aimed to assess hospital disposition after stroke and its associated factors in clinical practice.

Methods: All cases of stroke from 2006 to 2010 were identified from the population-based Stroke Registry of Dijon, France.