Protocol for identifying and characterising critical physical tasks in the military: Development and validation.

Background: When establishing Physical Employment Standards, validity is dependent on the correct identification and characterisation of critical job tasks.

Objective: To develop and validate a standardised protocol for the identification, characterisation, and documentation of critical physical job tasks in military occupational specialities in the Swedish Armed Forces (SwAF), and propose a definition of critical physical job tasks for use in the SwAF.

Methods: A protocol was drafted with three content domains, including a preliminary definition.

Summarizing the effects of different exercise types in chronic neck pain - a systematic review and meta-analysis of systematic reviews.

Background: To date, no consensus exists as to whether one exercise type is more effective than another in chronic neck pain. This systematic review and meta-analysis of systematic reviews aimed to summarize the literature on the effect of various exercise types used in chronic neck pain and to assess the certainty of the evidence.

Methods: We searched the databases Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, SportDiscus, and Web of Science (Core Collection) for systematic reviews and meta-analyses on adults between 18 and 70 years with chronic neck pain lasting ≥ 12 weeks which investigated the effects of exercises on pain and disability.

Description and comparison of postoperative functioning of patients with hip fracture 2018 and 2008 at the Örebro University Hospital - a comparative cross-sectional study.

Background: Hip fractures are a global problem, and it will probably increase. Hip fractures impair health aspects which creates demands on postoperative care. This study describes and compares patients with hip fracture in 2008 and in 2018.

Influence of work ability and smoking on the prognosis of long-duration activity-limiting neck/back pain: a cohort study of a Swedish working population.

Objectives: Long-duration activity-limiting neck/back pain is common, but the knowledge of what work and lifestyle factors that influence the prognosis is sparse. The objective was therefore to evaluate if two factors, good self-perceived work ability and no daily smoking, are associated with a favourable prognosis of long-duration activity-limiting neck/back pain in a working population, and if these exposures have a synergistic prognostic effect.

Design: A prospective cohort study based on three subsamples from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort.

The ability of a submaximal cycle ergometer test to detect longitudinal changes in VOmax.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to examine the ability of a submaximal cycling test to detect longitudinal changes in maximal oxygen uptake (VOmax) and examine the conformity between changes in measured and estimated VOmax over a time span of 5-8 years.

Methods: A total of 35 participants (21 men and 14 women), aged 29 to 63 years, performed the Ekblom-Bak (EB) submaximal cycle test for estimation of VOmax and a maximal treadmill running test for direct measurement of VOmax. The baseline tests were conducted between 2009 and 2012, and the follow-up tests were completed 5 to 8 years later.

Non-Preferred Work and the Incidence of Spinal Pain and Psychological Distress-A Prospective Cohort Study.

Mental illness and psychological distress are global concerns. This study aimed to investigate the association between having non-preferred work and the incidence of spinal pain, psychological distress, and spinal pain with concurrent psychological distress, and if associations are modified by sleep disturbance. A prospective study of 4285 participants 23-62 years old was conducted, from years 2007 to 2010.

Vigorous regular leisure-time physical activity is associated with a clinically important improvement in back pain - a secondary analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Neck and back pain are musculoskeletal conditions with serious individual and societal consequences. Current evidence about the prognostic value for neck and back pain is limited and conflicting. This prospective cohort study aimed to assess the association between leisure-time physical activity (LPA) and improvement of neck and/or back pain in a working population receiving manual therapy or general care in one of two randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Work ability and psychological distress in a working population: results from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort.

Aims: Psychological distress is a global public health concern with individual and societal implications causing work-related disability and loss of productivity. It is less known how much work ability contributes to the development of psychological distress. This study aimed to assess the association between self-perceived physical and mental work ability in relation to job demands, and the incidence of psychological distress in a Swedish working population.

Risk of transition from occasional neck/back pain to long-duration activity limiting neck/back pain: a cohort study on the influence of poor work ability and sleep disturbances in the working population in Stockholm County.

Objectives: The prevalence of neck/back pain (NBP) is high worldwide. Limited number of studies have investigated workers with occasional NBP regarding the risk of developing long-duration activity limiting NBP (LNBP). The objectives were to assess (1) the effect of poor work ability and sleep disturbances in persons with occasional NBP on the risk of LNBP, and (2) the interaction effect of these exposures.

Healthy lifestyle behaviour and risk of long-duration troublesome neck pain among men and women with occasional neck pain: results from the Stockholm public health cohort.

Objectives: The effect of a healthy lifestyle on the prognosis of neck pain is unknown. This study aimed to investigate if a healthy lifestyle behaviour influences the risk of long-duration troublesome neck pain among men and women with occasional neck pain.

Design: Longitudinal cohort study.

Predictive models for short-term and long-term improvement in women under physiotherapy for chronic disabling neck pain: a longitudinal cohort study.

Objectives: To develop predictive models for short-term and long-term clinically important improvement in women with non-specific chronic disabling neck pain during the clinical course of physiotherapy.

Design: Longitudinal cohort study based on data from a randomised controlled trial evaluating short-term and long-term effects on sensorimotor function over 11 weeks of physiotherapy.

Participants And Settings: Eighty-nine women aged 31-65 years with non-specific chronic disabling neck pain from Gävle, Sweden.

Reliability and agreement of the IsoKai isokinetic lift test - A test used for admission to the Swedish Armed Forces.

This study was performed to evaluate the reliability and agreement of the IsoKai isokinetic lift test as it is currently administered in admission to the Swedish Armed Forces. The study included an intrarater (n = 534) and interrater reliability sample (n = 137), of Swedish male conscripts who performed the test on two test occasions about two hours apart. Two-to-four lifts were performed at each occasion, and the highest mean (IsoKaiMF) and peak force (IsoKaiPF) produced (N) were used for evaluation.

Concurrent validity of an isokinetic lift test used for admission to the Swedish Armed Forces.

The aim of this study was to assess the concurrent validity of the IsoKai isokinetic lift test peak force (IsoKaiPeak) in comparison to a submaximal 5-10RM deadlift test (5-10RMDL), and to develop an equation for converting the IsoKaiPeak in Newton (N) to an estimated 1RM (1RMest) deadlift load in kilograms (kg). The participants included 28 males and 16 female employees in the Swedish Armed Forces (20-59 years). Each participant conducted the IsoKai lift test, followed by the 5-10RMDL test at one occasion.

Healthy lifestyle behavior and risk of long duration troublesome neck pain or low back pain among men and women: results from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort.

Background: The role of healthy lifestyle behavior (HLB) in terms of physical activity, alcohol intake, smoking, and diet put together has not yet been explored for the risk of low back pain (LBP) and neck pain (NP). Our aim was to study if an HLB is protective against the onset of long duration troublesome LBP and NP in men and women.

Methods: Two cohorts from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort, free from LBP (n=12,483) and NP (n=10,539), respectively, in 2006, were surveyed with questionnaires.

Sex and maturity status affected the validity of a submaximal cycle test in adolescents.

Aim: This study assessed the validity and reliability of the Ekblom-Bak (EB) submaximal cycle test in adolescents and identified any sex- or maturity-related factors for prediction errors.

Methods: We recruited 50 healthy subjects through a public announcement in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2016. The 27 boys and 23 girls were aged 10-15 years and in Tanner stages I-IV.

Does a healthy lifestyle behaviour influence the prognosis of low back pain among men and women in a general population? A population-based cohort study.

Objectives: To study the influence of healthy lifestyle behaviour on the prognosis of occasional low back pain among men and women in a general population.

Design: Cohort study with a 4-year follow-up.

Settings: General population in Stockholm County, Sweden.

The influence of self-reported leisure time physical activity and the body mass index on recovery from persistent back pain among men and women: a population-based cohort study.

Background: There is limited knowledge about leisure time physical activity and the body mass index (BMI) as prognostic factors for recovery from persistent back pain. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of leisure time physical activity and BMI on recovery from persistent back pain among men and women in a general population.

Methods: The study population (n=1836) in this longitudinal cohort study consisted of participants reporting persistent back pain in the baseline questionnaire in 2002-2003.

Prognosis of patients with whiplash-associated disorders consulting physiotherapy: development of a predictive model for recovery.

Background: Patients with whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) have a generally favourable prognosis, yet some develop longstanding pain and disability. Predicting who will recover from WAD shortly after a traffic collision is very challenging for health care providers such as physical therapists. Therefore, we aimed to develop a prediction model for the recovery of WAD in a cohort of patients who consulted physical therapists within six weeks after the injury.

The long-term effects of naprapathic manual therapy on back and neck pain - results from a pragmatic randomized controlled trial.

Background: Back and neck pain are very common, disabling and recurrent disorders in the general population and the knowledge of long-term effect of treatments are sparse. The aim of this study was to compare the long-term effects (up to one year) of naprapathic manual therapy and evidence-based advice on staying active regarding non-specific back and/or neck pain. Naprapathy, a health profession mainly practiced in Sweden, Finland, Norway and in the USA, is characterized by a combination of manual musculoskeletal manipulations, aiming to decrease pain and disability in the neuromusculoskeletal system.