Immediate effects of thoracic spine self-mobilization in patients with mechanical neck pain: A randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: To investigate the immediate effects of thoracic spine self-mobilization in patients with mechanical neck pain.

Study Design: Randomized, controlled trial.

Background: Thoracic spine self-mobilization is performed after thoracic spine thrust manipulation to augment and maintain its effects.

Reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the Japanese version of the Patient-Specific Functional Scale in patients with neck pain.

Purpose: The aims of this study were to translate and culturally adapt the Patient-Specific Functional Scale (PSFS) and validate the Japanese version of the PSFS (PSFS-J) in outpatients with neck pain.

Methods: The PSFS was translated and adapted into Japanese in accordance with the published guidelines. A total of 103 outpatients with neck pain were recruited for this study.

Ranges of active joint motion for the shoulder, elbow, and wrist in healthy adults.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to show highly reliable normal values and three-dimensional characteristics for final range of motion during active movements of the upper extremity joints, and to develop a database from healthy participants, with the advantage of this database lying in the methods of defining shoulder axial rotation angle and of compensating for soft tissue artifacts.

Methods: We used an electromagnetic tracking system (FASTRAK) to measure three-dimensional motions of the shoulder (thoracohumeral), elbow/forearm, and wrist in 20 healthy adults (age range: 18-34 years) during active joint motion tasks of the upper extremity.

Results: Joint angles of the upper extremity at the final position of joint motion tasks were determined.

Crosscultural adaptation, reliability, and validity of the Japanese version of the neck disability index.

Study Design: Translation and psychometric testing.

Objective: To translate and culturally adapt the Neck Disability Index (NDI) and to assess the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the NDI (NDI-J) in Japanese outpatients with neck pain.

Summary Of Background Data: To date, no previous report exists on the translation process and psychometric testing of the NDI-J.

Three-dimensional motion of the upper extremity joints during various activities of daily living.

Highly reliable information on the range of motion (ROM) required to perform activities of daily living (ADL) is important to allow rehabilitation professionals to make appropriate clinical judgments of patients with limited ROM of the upper extremity joints. There are, however, no data available that take full account of corrections for gimbal-lock and soft tissue artifacts, which affect estimation errors for joint angles. We used an electromagnetic three-dimensional tracking system (FASTRAK) to measure the three-dimensional ROM of the upper extremity joints of healthy adults (N=20, age range 18-34) during 16 ADL movement tasks.