Neuromuscular electrical stimulation: a new therapeutic option for chronic diseases based on contraction-induced myokine secretion
Myokines are peptides known to modulate brain neuroplasticity, adipocyte metabolism, bone mineralization, endothelium repair and cell growth arrest in colon and breast cancer, among other processes. Repeated skeletal muscle contraction induces the production and secretion of myokines, which have a wide range of functions in different tissues and organs. This new role of skeletal muscle as a secretory organ means skeletal muscle contraction could be a key player in the prevention and/or management of chronic disease. However, some individuals are not capable of optimal physical exercise in terms of adequate duration, intensity or muscles involved, and therefore they may be virtually deprived…
Sex Differences in Frail Older Adults with Foot Pain in a Spanish Population: An Observational Study
Frailty is a condition that can increase the risk of falls. In addition, foot pain can influence older adults and affect their frail condition. The main objective was to measure the frailty degree in older adults in a Spanish population with foot pain from moderate to severe. Method: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. A sample of people older than 60 years (n = 52), including 26 males and 26 females, were recruited, and frailty disability was measured using the 5-Frailty scale and the Edmonton Frailty scale (EFS). Results: Spearman&rsquo
Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Neuromodulation in Patients with Chronic Lateral Epicondylalgia: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial
Objective: The aim was to analyze effects of a percutaneous neuromodulation (PNM) treatment on the radial nerve, regarding pain, functionality, electrophysiologic excitability, and morphology, in patients with chronic lateral epicondylalgia (LE). Methods: Twenty-four patients with chronic unilateral elbow pain were recruited for this preliminary study and were divided into two groups: control (n = 12) and PNM group (n = 12). The subjects in the PNM group received percutaneous peripheral neurostimulation with an acupuncture needle that was located next to the nerve with ultrasound guidance. Pain using a numerical rating scale (NRS), functional ability using patient-rated tennis elbow evaluat…
The Impact of Depression Symptoms in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: A Novel Case-Control Investigation
Parkinson’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disease and it is known to cause motor disturbances associated with musculoskeletal problems of the locomotor apparatus, and non-motor symptoms, that are believed to have a harmful effect on health, social functioning and mobility. The aim of this study was to evaluate depression in patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) compared to subjects who do not have it. The sample consisted of 124 participants (mean age 69.18 ± 9.12). Patients with PD were recruited from a center of excellence for Parkinson’s disease (cases n = 62) and healthy subjects without PD from their relatives and caregivers (control n = 62). The Spanish version of Beck’s Depr…
Cross-Cultural Adaptation, Translation, and Validation of the Spanish Foot and Ankle Outcome Score Questionnaire
The Spanish Foot and Ankle Outcome Score questionnaire (FAOS‐S) may be considered a health evaluation tool with 42 questions for assessing foot health disorders. To date, FAOS has been validated in different languages, but a Spanish version was lacking. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to translate and validate the Spanish version of the FAOS (FAOS es). A suitable method was developed for the translation protocol and cross‐cultural validation from Swedish to Spanish. Regarding the total marks from each domain, agreement degrees and confidence were analysed using the Cronbach's α and intraclass correlation coefficient, respectively. In addition, the mean ± SD differences between p…
Effect of Foot Orthoses and Shoes in Parkinson's Disease Patients : A PRISMA Systematic Review
[Abstract] Reduced plantar foot sensation, postural instability, and gait difficulties are characteristic of Parkinson´s disease patients. A systematic review was carried out to determine the effect of the different types of insoles and shoes in these patients. Several databases were used to search for relevant articles reporting Parkinson´s disease patients undergoing treatment with any type of insole and footwear. All titles and abstracts were reviewed independently by two reviewers and the available data were extracted. The study eligibility criteria were any type of experimental study that included Parkinson’s disease patients treated with any type of insole or footwear. Eight studies w…
Does Function Determine the Structure? Changes in Flexor Hallucis Longus Muscle and the Associated Performance Related to Dance Modality: A Cross-Sectional Study
Background and Objectives: Flexor hallucis longus pathology is one of the most common conditions of the ankle and foot in dancers, due to the high demand of dance movements performed in an extreme plantar flexion and dorsiflexion range of motion. The objectives of this study were to determine the bilateral differences between the thickness and cross-sectional area of the flexor hallucis longus muscle in dancers, to establish possible differences between dance modalities, and to analyze whether there is a correlation between ultrasonographic parameters or performance variables and the dance modality. Material and Methods: A sample of 50 (29 classical and 21 contemporary) full-time pre-profes…
M-mode Ultrasound Examination of Soleus Muscle in Healthy Subjects: Intra- and Inter-Rater Reliability Study
Objective: M-mode ultrasound imaging (US) reflects the motion of connective tissue within muscles. The objectives of this study were to evaluate inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of soleus muscle measurements between examiners with different levels of US experience in asymptomatic subjects and to investigate the level of soleus muscle isometric activity in two positions (knee extended and knee flexed at 30°
Repeatability and reliability of the footwear assessment tool in Spanish patients: A transcultural adaptation
[Abstract] Background: The footwear assessment tool was designed to advise an appropriate footwear for each situation and patient. Footwear alterations structures can influence in musculoskeletal disorders, developing foot ulcers, increase the peak plantar pressure, bacterial growth, low back pain. Methods: To validate the study 101 subjects were recruited. The study was tested by two expert podiatrists using the tool for the assessment of footwear characteristics that is composed by five domains, fit, general features, general structure, motion control properties and cushioning system. Each domain analyzes different shoe items. Results: An excellent agreement between the test-retest. A sui…
Transcultural adaptation and validation of Italian Selfcarediabetic foot questionnaire
[Abstract] The Italian Self care diabetic foot questionnaire, (SDFQ-IT) is considered a dia-betic foot self-care evaluation tool with 16 questions for assessing diabetic foothealth disorders. To date, SDFQ has been validated in different languages, butan Italian version was lacking. Consequently, the purpose of this study was totranslate and validate the Italian version of the SDFQ-I T (SDFQ-IT). A suitablemethod was developed for the translation protocol and cross-cultural valida-tion from Spanish to Italian. Regarding the total marks from each sub-scale,agreement degrees, and confidence were analysed using the Cronbach's α andintraclass correlation coefficient (IC C), respectively. In add…
Women’s Foot Health–Related Quality of Life in Ballet Dancers and Nondancers
Background: Prevalence and severity of symptoms related to muscle and joint pain seem to be high in most dancers. Hypothesis: There will be a worse quality of life related to foot health for ballet dancers compared with nondancers. Study Design: Case-control study. Level of Evidence: Level 4. Methods: A sample of 156 women was recruited from a clinic of podiatric medicine and surgery. Self-reported data were measured by the Foot Health Status Questionnaire (FHSQ), which has 33 questions that assess 8 health domains of the feet and general health, namely, foot pain, foot function, general foot health, footwear, general health, physical activity, social capacity, and vigor. Results: Statistic…
The Implications Of The Foot Health Status In Parkinson Patients : A Case-Control Study
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects bothhealth of the feet, as to gait patterns. This study aimed to find out about footproblems and their impact on self-perceived quality of life and related to foothealth in Parkinson's patients compared to a group of healthy subjects and tomeasure it with Spanish Podiatry Health Questionnaire (PHQ-S). It is about acase–control study in a sample of Parkinson's patients n=62, healthy controlsn=62. The PHQ-S was reported, it describes perception the subject has ineach of podiatric 6 dimensions consulted, assessing appreciation of health sta-tus of interviewee's feet and a self-rated the foot health score on the visual ana-lo…
Influence of foot pain on frailty symptoms in an elderly population: a case-control study.
[Abstract] BACKGROUND: Frailty is a condition that can increase the risk of falls. In addition, foot disorders can negatively influence elderly people, thus affecting their condition of frailty. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether foot pain can influence a greater degree of frailty. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional descriptive study conducted at the University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. METHODS: A sample older than 60 years (n = 52), including 26 healthy subjects and 26 foot pain patients, was recruited. Frailty disability was measured using the 5-Frailty scale and the Edmonton Frailty scale (EFS). RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences in the total EFS score and in mos…
Current advances and novel research on minimal invasive techniques for musculoskeletal disorders.
Abstract The present review summarized the current advances and novel research on minimal invasive techniques for musculoskeletal disorders. Different invasive approaches were proposed in the physical therapy field for the management of musculoskeletal disorders, such as ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle electrolysis, dry needling, acupuncture and other invasive therapy techniques, discussing about their worldwide status, safety and interventional ultrasound imaging. Indeed, dry needling may be one of the most useful and studies invasive physical therapy applications in musculoskeletal disorders of different body regions, such as back, upper limb, shoulder, arm, hand, pelvis, lower limb…
Heart Rate Variability Monitoring during Interferential Current Application in the Lower Back Area: A Cross-Sectional Study
Vasovagal reactions may occur occasionally during electrical stimulation using interferential current (IFC). The purpose of this study was to examine variations in autonomic activity during the application of IFC in asymptomatic participants by analysis of their heart rate variability (HRV). Seventy-three male volunteers were randomly assigned to a placebo group (n = 36
Surgical Treatment on Subungual Osteochondromas in Paediatric Feet: A Case Series Study
Subungual osteochondroma (SO) is an infrequent and non-malignant bone tumour of the distal phalanx, especially prominent in paediatric populations. The aim of this research was to describe a case series of paediatric feet with SO which received surgical treatments. The secondary purpose was to compare these descriptive data by sex distribution. Methods: Twenty-three paediatric feet with SO confirmed by clinical or radiological features received surgical treatment. Socio-demographic (age, sex, height, weight and BMI) and clinical features (side, location, tumour or pain presence, and nail lift before surgery, as well as recurrence and adverse effects at one month after intervention) were rep…
Reliability of Frail and Barthel Tests for Detecting Frailty in Palliative Oncological Patients in a Home Hospitalization Unit: A Comparative Study.
Cancer is a condition that can increase the risk of frailty. In addition, palliative oncological patients in home hospitalization can find their activities of daily living affected. The main objective was to measure the degree of frailty in the oncological population in home hospitalization comparing Barthel and Frail-VIG Indexes. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. A sample of oncological patients in home hospitalization (n = 50) that included 27 men and 23 women were recruited, and disability due to frailty was measured using the VIG frailty index and the Barthel scale for Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). Spearman’s correlation coefficients were categorized as weak (rs &l…
Ultrasound Imaging Evaluation of Textural Features in Athletes with Soleus Pathology—A Novel Case-Control Study
Background: the aim of this study was to compare the echotexture of patients with soleus muscle injury and age matched controls. Methods: a sample of 62 athletes was recruited at the private clinic and was divided in two group: a healthy group (n=31) and a soleus pathology group whose athletes had soleus muscle injury, located in the central tendon (n=31). The muscle thickness (MTh), echointensity (EI) and echovariation (EV) were analyzed. An intra-rater reliability test (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient-ICC) was performed in order to analyze the reliability of the values of the measurements. Results: Sociodemographic variables did not show statistically significant differences (p >
The reliability, validity, and sensitivity of the Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS) in older adults with foot disorders
[Abstract] The Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS) is an index employed to measure alterations related to frailty. The main objective in this research was to develop the EFS short-form (EFS-SF) and to evaluate its validity, reliability, and sensitivity to predict frailty disability outcomes in elderly patients with foot disabilities. Results: Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the EFS-SF revealed the presence of three components, as in the original EFA. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) in the study population for several of the EFS and 5-item FRAIL scale indicators. The highest correlation (Pearson R = 0.871; p < 0.001) was found for the first component of the EFS-SF. Finally, the Cro…
Repeatability and reliability of the diabetic foot self-care questionnaire in Arabic patients: A transcultural adaptation.
Abstract Purpose The diabetic foot self-care questionnaire is considered a self-care evaluation tool with 16 questions for assessing diabetic foot health disorders. To date, the DFSQ has been validated in different languages, but an Arabic version was lacking. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to translate and validate the Arabic version of the DFSQ (DFSQ-AR). Method A suitable method was developed for the translation protocol and cross-cultural validation from Spanish to Arabic. Regarding the total marks from each sub-scale, agreement degrees and confidence were analyzed using Cronbach's α and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), respectively. In addition, the mean ± standar…
Comparison of Lateral Abdominal Musculature Activation during Expiration with an Expiratory Flow Control Device Versus the Abdominal Drawing-in Maneuver in Healthy Women: A Cross-Sectional Observational Pilot Study
Background and Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to quantify and compare lateral abdominal musculature thickness, including the transverse abdominis (TrA), internal oblique (IO), and external oblique (EO) muscles, via rehabilitative ultrasound imaging (RUSI) during the use of the expiratory flow control device (EFCD) versus the classic abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional observational pilot study. Twenty-one women were recruited and assessed the thickness of each muscle (TrA, IO, and EO) by ultrasound imaging at rest, during the ADIM, and during expiration with the EFCD. Waist circumference was also measured under the same circumstan…
The implications of diabetic foot health-related with quality of life: A retrospective case control investigation
[Abstract] The diabetes people show a significant presence of foot health problems are usually all over the world, causing in big economic effects for these persons, their families and world population OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research is to evaluate and relate the impact of foot health associated with the quality of life (QoL) in a group of people with and without diabetes MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 150 persons of a mean age of 71.45 ± 11.93 years came to a foot and ankle specialist outpatient center. Self-reported data were medical records where persons'with and without diabetes was evaluated. All findings obtained was compared with scores quality of life using the tool Foot H…
Impact Of Chronic Foot Pain Related Quality Of Life : A Retrospective Case-Control Study
Clinical trial [Abstract] Background: Chronic foot pain (CFP) is a widespread condition worldwide; however, few studies that relate CFP and foot health-related quality of life have been reported. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the impact of foot health and health in general in a sample of adult people with CFP compared with a control group. Study design: This study was designed as a retrospective case-control study. Setting: Podiatric section of a care center. Methods: Two hundred adults were included in the study. Patients were divided into CFP patient (n = 100) and control groups (n = 100). All of them regularly attended a private podiatric clinic to take care of their f…
Effect of Physiotherapy Treatment in the Autonomic Activation and Pain Perception in Male Patients with Non-Specific Subacute Low Back Pain
Introduction: Physiotherapy treatment is a common intervention for low back pain (LBP) patients. These interventions have been related to physiological effects in the central nervous system. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the effect of physiotherapy treatment in patients with LBP in the autonomic nervous system activation and subjective pain perception of patients. Methods: A total of 30 male subjects diagnosed with non-specific subacute LBP received a 50 min session consisting of (a) a manual therapy based on joint mobilization and soft tissues techniques in the lumbo-pelvic area, (b) a stretching program, and (c) motor control exercises of the core muscles. The autonomic modif…
Impact of quality of life related to foot problems : a case-control study
AbstractFoot problems are highly prevalent conditions, being a frequent reason for medical and podiatric consultation. The aim of this study was to compare the differences of quality of life (QoL) related to foot health in people with and without the presence of foot problems. A case–control study was carried out in an outpatient centre, where a clinician recorded data related to sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. In addition, self-reported data on foot health-related quality of life were recorded using the Spanish version of the Foot Health Status Questionnaire. The sample consisted of 498 participants (249 cases and 249 controls), with a median age of 30 years and an interquar…
Effect of foot health and quality of life in patients with Parkinson disease: A prospective case-control investigation.
Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade da Coruña/CISUG [Abstract] Background Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder, characterised by the presence of motor disturbances. Therefore, it can be related to musculoskeletal and orthopaedic problems, particularly in the foot status, that are linked to a negative effect on overall health, mobility and social function. Objective The aim was to analyse the impact of foot health and quality of life in patients with Parkinson's disease and people without Parkinson's disease, with normalised reference scores, in the light of the values recorded with regard to foot health status and overall health. Material an…
Ultrasound imaging assessment of the diaphragm and abdominal muscles in people with a recent history of moderate Covid-19 infection and healthy participants : A cross-sectional pilot study
Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is a highly infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and is associated with a decrease of respiratory, physical, and psychological function, subsequently affecting quality of life. The aim of the present pilot study was to use ultrasound imaging (USI) to evaluate and compare the thickness of the diaphragm and abdominal muscles between individuals recently diagnosed with moderate Covid-19 infection and healthy individuals. Methods: A cross-sectional observational pilot study was performed. A total sample of 24 participants were recruited from a private medical center (Madrid, Spain): Covid-19 (n = 12) and healthy controls (n = 12). The external oblique…
Influence of foot pain on frailty symptoms in an elderly population: a case-control study
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Frailty is a condition that can increase the risk of falls. In addition, foot disorders can negatively influence elderly people, thus affecting their condition of frailty. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether foot pain can influence a greater degree of frailty. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional descriptive study conducted at the University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. METHODS: A sample older than 60 years (n = 52), including 26 healthy subjects and 26 foot pain patients, was recruited. Frailty disability was measured using the 5-Frailty scale and the Edmonton Frailty scale (EFS). RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences in the total EFS score and in most …