Inter-rater and test-retest reliability of movement control tests for the neck, shoulder, thoracic, lumbar, and hip regions in military personnel.

Strategies are needed to mitigate the high rates and related risks of musculoskeletal complaints and injuries (MSCI) in the military aviator community. Previous work on Swedish Armed Forces (SwAF) soldiers have shown that proper screening methods have been successful in reducing early discharge from military training. Research has pointed at the importance of optimal spinal movement control in military aviators.

Pain-related fear, catastrophizing and pain in the recovery from a fracture.

Background and aims Pain-related fear and catastrophizing are prominently related to acute and persistent back pain, but little is known about their role in pain and function after a fracture. Since fractures have a clear etiology and time point they are of special interest for studying the process of recovery. Moreover, fracture injuries are interesting in their own right since patients frequently do not recover fully from them and relatively little is known about the psychological aspects.

How does exercise dose affect patients with long-term osteoarthritis of the knee? A study protocol of a randomised controlled trial in Sweden and Norway: the SWENOR Study.

Introduction: Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is characterised by knee pain, disability and degenerative changes, and places a burden on societies all over the world. Exercise therapy is an often-used modality, but there is little evidence of what type of exercise dose is the most effective, indicating a need for controlled studies of the effect of different dosages. Thus, the aim of the study described in this protocol is to evaluate the effects of high-dose versus low-dose medical exercise therapy (MET) in patients with knee OA.

A structural equation model of the relation between socioeconomic status, physical activity level, independence and health status in older Iranian people.

Background And Aim: Health status is an independent predictor of mortality, morbidity and functioning in older people. The present study was designed to evaluate the link between socioeconomic status (SES), physical activity (PA), independence (I) and the health status (HS) of older people in Iran, using structural equation modelling.

Methods: Using computerized randomly selection, a representative sample of 851 75-year-olds living in Tehran (2007-2008), Iran, was included.

Long-Term Effects of Individually Tailored Physical Training and Activity on Physical Function, Well-Being and Cognition in Scandinavian Nursing Home Residents: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: The preservation of physical functions such as muscle strength, balance and mobility is fundamental to maintaining independence in activities of daily living (ADL). The physical activity level of most nursing home residents is very low, which implies that they are often subject to a decline in health, mobility, autonomy and social contacts and are also at risk of suffering a decline in mental well-being. In a previous study, we demonstrated that transfers, balance and physical activity level improved after 3 months of individually tailored intervention in nursing home residents.

Short- and long-term effects of exercise on neck muscle function in cervical radiculopathy: A randomized clinical trial.

Objective: To compare short- and long-term changes in neck muscle endurance, electromyography measures of neck muscle activation and fatigue and ratings of fatigue and pain after neck-specific training or physical activity in people with cervical radiculopathy.

Design: Randomized clinical trial.

Subjects/patients: Seventy-five patients with cervical radiculopathy.

Dimensions Underlying Measures of Disability, Personal Factors, and Health Status in Cervical Radiculopathy: A Cross-Sectional Study.

This cross-sectional study sought to identify dimensions underlying measures of impairment, disability, personal factors, and health status in patients with cervical radiculopathy. One hundred twenty-four patients with magnetic resonance imaging-verified cervical radiculopathy, attending a neurosurgery clinic in Sweden, participated. Data from clinical tests and questionnaires on disability, personal factors, and health status were used in a principal-component analysis (PCA) with oblique rotation.

Influence of the implementation of a comprehensive intervention programme on premature discharge outcomes from military training.

Objective: The study describes and analyses the influence of a comprehensive intervention on premature discharges (i.e. the military training cannot be completed).

Inter-examiner reliability of a proposed decision-making treatment based classification system for low back pain patients.

Evolving evidence has shown increased clinical outcomes, when low back pain (LBP) patients are classified and receive matched physical treatment. The present study aimed to examine the inter-examiner reliability of a proposed new decision-making classification system for non-specific LBP patients, using a mixed simultaneous and independent examiner design. With minimal familiarization, two pairs of experienced physiotherapists trained in Orthopedic Manual Therapy (OMT) at two different out-patient clinics in primary care, examined and classified 64 consenting consecutive patients.

Catastrophizing during and after pregnancy: associations with lumbopelvic pain and postpartum physical ability.

Background: There is a lack of knowledge about the possible role of catastrophizing in lumbopelvic pain during and after pregnancy and in postpartum physical ability.

Objective: The aims of this study were to explore how catastrophizing fluctuates over time during and after pregnancy and to investigate the associations between catastrophizing and lumbopelvic pain and between catastrophizing and postpartum physical ability.

Design: A prospective questionnaire was used.

Feasibility and effects of a physical exercise programme in adults with myotonic dystrophy type 1: a randomized controlled pilot study.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility and effects of a physical exercise programme on functioning and health-related quality of life in adults with myotonic dystrophy type 1.

Design: A randomized controlled trial.

Subjects: Thirty-five adults with myotonic dystrophy type 1.

Functioning and disability in adults with myotonic dystrophy type 1.

Purpose:  To provide a comprehensive description of functioning and disability with regard to stages of disease progression in adults with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). Further to explore associations of measures of manual dexterity and of walking capacity with measures of activities of daily living (ADL) and participation in social and lifestyle activities.

Methods: Seventy persons with DM1 underwent examinations, tests and answered questionnaires.

Neck/shoulder exercise for neck pain in air force helicopter pilots: a randomized controlled trial.

Study Design: The study was a randomized, controlled trial with blinded outcome assessment. A 6-week intervention was followed up directly afterwards and after 12 months.

Objective: The purpose was to evaluate the preventive efficacy of a neck/shoulder exercise regimen for neck pain in air force helicopter pilots.

Perceived functioning and disability in adults with myotonic dystrophy type 1: a survey according to the International Classification Of Functioning, Disability and Health.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe and analyse self-rated perceived functioning, disability and environmental facilitators/barriers with regard to disease severity, using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) checklist, in adults with myotonic dystrophy type 1.

Design: Cross-sectional design.

Subjects: Forty-one women and 29 men with myotonic dystrophy type 1.

Individual risk factors associated with premature discharge from military service.

Research on military populations indicates that failure to complete training is a significant problem for armed forces around the world. The present study estimated the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints or injuries and potential individual risk factors leading to premature discharge from Swedish military service. Male conscripts, n=469 answered a questionnaire and performed physical tests at the start of their military service.

Screening tests detect knee pain and predict discharge from military service.

This study evaluated the capacity of a screening test to predict discharge from military training. When starting their training, 590 artillery and 258 ranger conscripts were tested in step-up, step-down, rising from a 0.40-m-high bench, and bilateral squat tests, with pain intensity ratings.

Strategies for prevention and management of musculoskeletal conditions. Neck pain.

The aim of this article was to summarise the existing evidence concerning interventions for non-specific neck pain. Neck-and-shoulder pain is commonly experienced by both adolescents and adults. Although the prevalence appears to vary among different nations, the situation is essentially the same, at least in the industrialised nations.

A lower-limb functional capacity test for enlistment into Swedish Armed Forces ranger units.

The present work validated minimal performance standards for a lower-limb functional capacity test used at enrollment to predict the risk of discharge from strenuous military ranger training in the Swedish Armed Forces. To set a relevant level of performance, trained conscripts in a ranger unit (n = 38) performed a maximal physical fitness test, including the newly developed ranger test, during the last week of their 1-year basic training. The following year, basic training started with an initial strength test performed by all conscripts (n = 285).

Neck pain and related disability in helicopter pilots: A survey of prevalence and risk factors.

Introduction: Today's demands on helicopter missions-often using helmet-mounted visual technology-place much physical stress on the cervical spine. The objective of the present analytical survey was to estimate the prevalence of, and associated risk factors for, helicopter pilots' neck pain and related disability.

Methods: There were 127 Swedish helicopter pilots consecutively enrolled for the study who completed a structured questionnaire during their regular medical health checkups.

Sickness absence and sickness attendance--what people with neck or back pain think.

This study explores the decision of 33 men and women to be sick-listed from work for neck pain or low-back pain. Qualitative interviews with the subjects, who lived in a city or a sparsely populated area of Sweden, were tape-recorded, transcribed and analysed in the interpretive tradition by the three authors. New, intense and threatening pain quickly made persons report sick.

Back extensor muscle fatigue in patients with lumbar disc herniation. Pre-operative and post-operative analysis of electromyography, endurance time and subjective factors.

We investigated back muscle fatigue and endurance in patients with lumbar disc herniation before and after surgery, and established the degree of association between perceived fatigue and objectively measured fatigue. Additionally, the relationships between muscle fatigue and endurance time on the one hand, and activity, participation, self-efficacy and health on the other, were investigated to clarify the grades of association between these factors. Forty-three consecutive patients with lumbar disc herniation were tested before surgery and 4 weeks after surgery.

Effect of three different physical therapy treatments on pain and activity in pregnant women with pelvic girdle pain: a randomized clinical trial with 3, 6, and 12 months follow-up postpartum.

Study Design: A randomized assessor-blinded clinical trial was conducted.

Objective: To compare 3 different physical therapy treatments with respect to pain and activity in women with pelvic girdle pain during pregnancy and 3, 6, and 12 months postpartum.

Summary Of Background Data: In spite of the high prevalence of back pain during pregnancy, documented treatment programs are limited.

Neck strength and myoelectric fatigue in fighter and helicopter pilots with a history of neck pain.

Introduction: Flight-induced neck pain at high Gz loads or during sustained rotary-wing missions may be caused by limitations in neck muscle function. A better understanding of the contributing factors of excessive external load and internal neck-stabilizing mechanisms would improve the ability to prevent and treat such pain. The aim of this single-blinded cross-sectional study was to evaluate neck neuromuscular function in fighter and helicopter pilots who suffered from frequent neck pain.