MuscleMap: An Open-Source, Community-Supported Consortium for Whole-Body Quantitative MRI of Muscle.

Disorders affecting the neurological and musculoskeletal systems represent international health priorities. A significant impediment to progress in trials of new therapies is the absence of responsive, objective, and valid outcome measures sensitive to early disease changes. A key finding in individuals with neuromuscular and musculoskeletal disorders is the compositional changes to muscles, evinced by the expression of fatty infiltrates.

Three-dimensional spatial distribution of lumbar paraspinal intramuscular fat revealed by spatial parametric mapping.

Purpose: Lumbar paraspinal intramuscular fat (IMF) has emerged as a biological factor in low back pain (LBP). Traditional assessments measure IMF across the entire muscle or at specific levels and may miss key information on the role of IMF in LBP. Despite known variations across the lumbar spine, the three-dimensional (3D) distribution of IMF has not been characterized across people.

Differences in the organization of the primary motor cortex in people with and without low back pain and associations with motor control and sensory tests.

Differences in organization of the primary motor cortex and altered trunk motor control (sensing, processing and motor output) have been reported in people with low back pain (LBP). Little is known to what extent these differences are related. We investigated differences in 1) organization of the primary motor cortex and 2) motor and sensory tests between people with and without LBP, and 3) investigated associations between the organization of the primary motor cortex and motor and sensory tests.

Does having an external focus in immersive virtual reality increase range of motion in people with neck pain?

Background: When instructing exercises to improve Range of Motion (ROM), clinicians often create an internal focus of attention, while motor performance may improve more when using an external focus.

Objectives: Using Virtual Reality (VR), we investigated the effect of tasks with an internal and external focus on maximal ROM in people with neck pain and explored whether this effect was associated with fear of movement.

Method: In this cross-over experimental design study, the cervical ROM of 54 participants was measured while performing a target-seeking exercise in a VR-environment (external focus task) and during three maximal rotation and flexion-extension movements with the VR-headset on, without signal (internal focus task).

Investigating the associations between lumbar paraspinal muscle health and age, BMI, sex, physical activity, and back pain using an automated computer-vision model: a UK Biobank study.

Background Context: The role of lumbar paraspinal muscle health in back pain (BP) is not straightforward. Challenges in this field have included the lack of tools and large, heterogenous datasets to interrogate the association between muscle health and BP. Computer-vision models have been transformative in this space, enabling the automated quantification of muscle health and the processing of large datasets.

Illness perceptions in people with chronic and disabling non-specific neck pain seeking primary healthcare: a qualitative study.

Background: Illness perceptions can affect the way people with musculoskeletal pain emotionally and behaviorally cope with their health condition. Understanding patients illness perceptions may help facilitate patient-centered care. The purpose of this study was to explore illness perceptions and the origin of those perceptions in people with chronic disabling non-specific neck pain seeking primary care.

Quantifying lumbar paraspinal intramuscular fat: Accuracy and reliability of automated thresholding models.

Background: The reported level of lumbar paraspinal intramuscular fat (IMF) in people with low back pain (LBP) varies considerably across studies using conventional T- and T-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences. This may be due to the different thresholding models employed to quantify IMF. In this study we investigated the accuracy and reliability of established (two-component) and novel (three-component) thresholding models to measure lumbar paraspinal IMF from T-weighted MRI.

Exploring health and illness perceptions to identify the perceived cause of pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain. A mixed-methods study among primiparous women in The Netherlands.

Background: Pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain (PPGP) is common and considered a multifactorial condition with biomechanical and psychosocial contributions. The patient's perceived cause is an important aspect of illness perceptions, and a strong predictor of self-management and healthcare utilization. It is unknown what causal beliefs primiparae hold regarding PPGP.

Predicting direct healthcare costs of general practitioner-guided care in patients with musculoskeletal complaints.

Information on healthcare utilization and costs of general practitioner (GP)-guided care in patients with musculoskeletal complaints is important for keeping healthcare affordable and accessible. A registry-based study was performed to describe healthcare utilization and costs of GP-guided care in patients with musculoskeletal complaints and to predict having higher direct healthcare costs. Healthcare costs of GP-guided care included all healthcare resources used by patients due to a musculoskeletal condition in 2018.

Visual feedback manipulation in virtual reality to influence pain-free range of motion. Are people with non-specific neck pain who are fearful of movement more susceptible?

Background: Movement-evoked pain may have a protective or learned component, influenced by visual cues which suggest that the person is moving towards a position that may be perceived as threatening. We investigated whether visual feedback manipulation in virtual reality (VR) had a different effect on cervical pain-free range of motion (ROM) in people with fear of movement.

Method: In this cross-sectional study, seventy-five people with non-specific neck pain (i.

Reliability of two lumbar motor control tests for people with low back pain that are feasible in clinical practice.

Background: Clinically feasible and reliable methods to measure motor control in people with low back pain (LBP) are lacking. This reliability and measurement error study design (i.e.

Skin Displacement as fascia tissue manipulation at the lower back affects instantaneously the flexion-and extension spine, pelvis, and hip range of motion.

Low back pain (LBP), associated with spine, pelvis, and hip mobility impairments can be caused by tight muscle contractions, to protect sensitized lumbar fasciae. Fascia tissue manipulations are used to treat lumbar fascia in LBP. The effect of fascia tissue manipulations through lumbodorsal skin displacement (SKD) on mobility is inconclusive likely depending on the location and displacement direction of the manipulation.

Associations between primary motor cortex organization, motor control and sensory tests during the clinical course of low back pain. A protocol for a cross-sectional and longitudinal case-control study.

Background: In people with low back pain (LBP), altered motor control has been related to reorganization of the primary motor cortex (M1). Sensory impairments in LBP have also been suggested to be associated with reorganization of M1. Little is known about reorganization of M1 over time in people with LBP, and whether it relates to changes in motor control and sensory impairments and recovery.

Identifying Patient Characteristics Associated With the Occurrence of Post Treatment Non-serious Adverse Events After Cervical Spine Manual Therapy Treatment in Patients With Neck Pain.

Objectives: To compare prevalence rates of serious and non-serious adverse events after manipulation and mobilization and to identify risk factors of serious and non-serious adverse events following 4 types of manual therapy treatment in patients with neck pain.

Design: A prospective cohort study in primary care manual therapy practice.

Participants: Patients with neck pain (N=686) provided data on adverse events after 1014 manipulation treatments, 829 mobilization treatments, 437 combined manipulation and mobilization treatments, and 891 treatments consisting of "other treatment modality".

Convolutional neural networks for the automatic segmentation of lumbar paraspinal muscles in people with low back pain.

The size, shape, and composition of paraspinal muscles have been widely reported in disorders of the cervical and lumbar spine. Measures of size, shape, and composition have required time-consuming and rater-dependent manual segmentation techniques. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) provide alternate timesaving, state-of-the-art performance measures, which could realise clinical translation.

Differences in balance control despite self-reported resolution of pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain. A cross-sectional study.

Background: Motor control patterns are altered when women with pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain (PGP) experience pain. In low back pain, these adaptations can persist after recovery.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess balance control in postpartum women with and without a history of PGP during pregnancy.

Reliability and validity of assessment methods available in primary care for bladder outlet obstruction and benign prostatic obstruction in men with lower urinary tract symptoms: a systematic review.

Objectives: To systematically review the literature regarding the reliability and validity of assessment methods available in primary care for bladder outlet obstruction or benign prostatic obstruction in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).

Design: Systematic review with best evidence synthesis.

Setting: Primary care.

The introduction of advanced practice physiotherapy within Dutch primary care is a quest for possibilities, added value, and mutual trust: a qualitative study amongst advanced practice physiotherapists and general practitioners.

Background: Despite the increased deployment and added value of Advanced Practitioner Physiotherapy (APP) in musculoskeletal care internationally, APP is not yet widely accepted within Dutch primary care. This may be due to specific constraints in the implementation of APP within the Dutch healthcare system. This study aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of Advanced Practitioner Physiotherapists (APPs) and General Practitioners (GPs) with respect to implementing APP within Dutch primary care.

Systematic Review of Lumbar Elastic Tape on Trunk Mobility: A Debatable Issue.

Objectives: To systematically review the literature to analyze the effect of lumbar elastic tape application on trunk mobility, surpassing the minimal detectable change of the used outcome measurement tool, and to analyze the additional effect of applied tension and direction of elastic tape application in low back pain and participants without low back pain.

Data Sources: Four databases were used: PubMed, Web of Science, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), and Google Scholar.

Study Selection: The inclusion criteria were randomized and clinical controlled trials evaluating the effectiveness of lumbar elastic tape application on trunk mobility.

Using Visual Feedback Manipulation in Virtual Reality to Influence Pain-Free Range of Motion in People with Nonspecific Neck Pain.

Background: Based on associative learning theories it is hypothesized that pain might be a conditioned response. In people with musculoskeletal pain, the occurrence of movement-induced pain might be a protective response, influenced by visual cues suggesting that the person is approaching a painful position. This study aimed to determine (1) whether the pain-free range of motion (ROM) increased and decreased when visual feedback understated or overstated true rotation in people with neck pain and (2) whether this effect was more pronounced if pain was chronic.

Recovery expectations of neck pain patients do not predict treatments outcome in manual therapy.

Patient recovery expectations can predict treatment outcome. Little is known about the association of patient recovery expectations on treatment outcome in patients with neck pain consulting a manual therapist. This study evaluates the predictive value of recovery expectations in neck pain patients consulting manual therapists in the Netherlands.

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Dutch language version of the Pictorial Fear of Activity Scale - Cervical.

Background: The Pictorial Fear of Activity Scale-Cervical (PFActS-C) is a reliable and valid instrument to assess fear of movement in people with whiplash associated disorders. It is not available in Dutch and has not been evaluated in other neck pain populations. This study aimed to systematically translate the PFActS-C into Dutch and evaluate the psychometric properties of this Dutch Language Version (DLV) in people with non-specific neck pain.