Massage Therapy and Exercise Therapy in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.
Massage therapy and exercise therapy in patients with multiple sclerosis: a randomized controlled pilot study.
Clin Rehabil. 2013 Jul 4;
Negahban H, Rezaie S, Goharpey S
Objective:The primary aim was to investigate the comparative effects of massage therapy and exercise therapy on patients with multiple sclerosis. The secondary aim was to investigate whether combination of both massage and exercise has an additive effect.Design:Randomized controlled pilot trial with repeated measurements and blinded assessments.Setting:Local Multiple Sclerosis Society.Subjects:A total of 48 patients with multiple sclerosis were randomly assigned to four equal subgroups labelled as massage therapy, exercise therapy, combined massage-exercise therapy and control group.Interventions:The treatment group received 15 sessions of supervised intervention for five weeks. The massage therapy group received a standard Swedish massage. The exercise therapy group was given a combined set of strength, stretch, endurance and balance exercises. Patients in the massage-exercise therapy received a combined set of massage and exercise treatments. Patients in the control group were asked to continue their standard medical care.Main measures:Pain, fatigue, spasticity, balance, gait and quality of life were assessed before and after intervention.Results:Massage therapy resulted in significantly larger improvement in pain reduction (mean change 2.75 points, P = 0.001), dynamic balance (mean change, 3.69 seconds, P = 0.009) and walking speed (mean change, 7.84 seconds, P = 0.007) than exercise therapy. Patients involved in the combined massage-exercise therapy showed significantly larger improvement in pain reduction than those in the exercise therapy (mean change, 1.67 points, P = 0.001).Conclusions:Massage therapy could be more effective than exercise therapy. Moreover, the combination of massage and exercise therapy may be a little more effective than exercise therapy alone. HubMed – rehab
High and low contact frequency cardiac rehabilitation programmes elicit similar improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiovascular risk factors.
Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2013 Jul 4;
Lahaye SA, Lacombe SP, Koppikar S, Lun G, Parsons TL, Hopkins-Rosseel D
Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a proven intervention that substantially improves physical health and decreases death and disability following a cardiovascular event. Traditional CR typically involves 36 on-site exercise sessions spanning a 12-week period. To date, the optimal dose of CR has yet to be determined. This study compared a high contact frequency CR programme (HCF, 34 on-site sessions) with a low contact frequency CR programme (LCF, eight on-site sessions) of equal duration (4 months).A total of 961 low-risk cardiac patients (RARE score <4) self-selected either a HCF (n?=?469) or LCF (n?=?492) CR programme. Cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiovascular risk factors were measured on admission and discharge.Similar proportions of patients completed HCF (n?=?346) and LCF (n?=?351) (p?=?0.398). Patients who were less fit (<8 METs) were more likely to drop out of the LCF group, while younger patients (<60 years) were more likely to drop out of the HCF group. Both groups experienced similar reductions in weight (-2.3 vs. -2.4?kg; p?=?0.779) and improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness (+1.5 vs. +1.4 METs; p?=?0.418).Patients in the LCF programme achieved equivalent results to those in the HCF programme. Certain subgroups of patients, however, may benefit from participation in a HCF programme, including those patients who are predisposed to prematurely discontinuing the programme and those patients who would benefit from increased monitoring. The LCF model can be employed as an alternative option to widen access and participation for patients who are unable to attend HCF programmes due to distance or time limitations. HubMed – rehab
Origin of the Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 7 Gene Mutation in Mexican Population.
Cerebellum. 2013 Jul 5;
Magaña JJ, Gómez R, Maldonado-Rodríguez M, Velázquez-Pérez L, Tapia-Guerrero YS, Cortés H, Leyva-García N, Hernández-Hernández O, Cisneros B
Spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive cerebellar ataxia associated with macular degeneration that leads, in the majority of patients, to loss of autonomy and blindness. The cause of the disease has been identified as (CAG) n repeat expansion in the coding sequence of the ATXN7 gene on chromosome 3p21.1. SCA7 is one of the least common genetically verified autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxias found worldwide; however, we previously identified the Mexican population showing high prevalence of SCA7, suggesting the occurrence of a common founder effect. In this study, haplotype analysis using four SCA7 gene-linked markers revealed that all 72 SCA7 carriers studied share a common haplotype, A-254-82-98, for the intragenic marker 3145G/A and centromeric markers D3S1287, D3S1228, and D3S3635, respectively. This multiloci combination is uncommon in healthy relatives and Mexican general population, suggesting that a single ancestral mutation is responsible for all SCA7 cases in this population. Furthermore, genotyping using 17 short tandem repeat markers from the non-recombining region of the Y chromosome and further phylogenetic relationship analysis revealed that Mexican patients possess the Western European ancestry, which might trace the SCA7 ancestral mutation to that world region. HubMed – rehab
Ultrasound versus palpation guidance for intra-articular injections in patients with degenerative osteoarthritis of the elbow.
J Clin Ultrasound. 2013 Jul 5;
Kim TK, Lee JH, Park KD, Lee SC, Ahn J, Park Y
The aim of this study is to evaluate the accuracy rate of ultrasound (US) -guided intra-articular (IA) injections in patients by posterior approach with osteoarthritis (OA) of the elbow.Eighty patients with physical examination and radiographic findings of elbow OA were included. After US-guided IA or palpation-guided IA injection of iohexol contrast by posterior approach into the elbow joint, fluoroscopic images were obtained to ascertain whether the injected material had reached the IA space.Of the 40 injections performed by US guidance, 40 were confirmed to have been placed in the IA space (an accuracy rate of 100%). Thirty-one of the 40 injections performed by the palpation guidance were IA space (77.5% accuracy rate).US-guided IA elbow injections by posterior approach may raise the accuracy rate in elbow joint injections. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound, 2013; HubMed – rehab