Five-day, low-level laser therapy for sports-related lower extremity periostitis in adult men: a randomized, controlled trial.

Periostitis in the lower leg caused by overexercise is a universal problem in athletes and runners. The purpose of this study was to observe the functional improvement of the lower limbs upon rehabilitation low-level laser therapy (LLLT). All medical data were gathered from enrolled adults with sports-related lower leg pain. A total of 54 patients underwent triple-phase bone scans using skeletal nuclear scintigraphy, which confirmed periostitis in their lower limbs. The patients were then randomly divided into two groups: one group received laser therapy (N = 29) and the other group (N = 25) received an equivalent placebo treatment (a drug or physical therapy). Treatment protocol commenced with rehabilitation intervention and LLLT was performed three times daily for 5 days at a dosage of 1.4 J/cm(2). A Likert-type pain scale was used to evaluate the severity of pain. Balance function, including postural stability testing (PST) and limits of stability (LOS), was also performed to evaluate the function outcome. Patients experienced a significant improvement in pain by day 2 or day 5 after starting LLLT, but here was no significant difference in pain scale between the measurements before (baseline) and after LLLT. Comparing the PST, the group differences of dynamic vs. static testings ranged from -18.54 to -50.22 (compared 12, 8, 4, 3, 2, 1 to 0, all p < 0.0001), and the PST after LLLT were 3.73 units (p = 0.0258) lower than those of before LLLT. Comparing the LOS, the group differences of dynamic vs. static testing were similar to those in PST, and the relationship between LOS and groups only varied with the direction control during dynamic testing in direction at backward/right vs. right (p < 0.0001). LLLT had a positive effect on proprioception in patients with lower limb periostitis. Larger, better controlled studies are needed to determine what specific effects LLLT has on the function of proprioception.

Alterações ósseas em lactentes com sífilis congênita / Bone changes in infants with congenital syphilis

Introdução: a sífilis causa morbidade na vida intrauterina, desfechos negativos em mais de 50% dos casos e complicações nos nascidos vivos. Lesões ósseas são frequentes na sífilis congênita (SC), ocorrendo em 70 a 100% dos casos. Objetivo: relatar casos de dez lactentes com diagnóstico de SC precoce e alterações ósseas ao exame radiológico de ossos longos, acompanhados no Serviço de Infectologia do HINSG. Relato dos casos: dez lactentes apresentaram lesões ósseas, entre crianças internadas com SC no HINSG, seis do sexo feminino e quatro do masculino. Metade era proveniente da Grande Vitória, três do interior e dois da Bahia. Dois tinham menos de 1 mês de vida. Seis das mães fizeram pré-natal, três tiveram o diagnóstico de sífilis na gestação e apenas uma foi adequadamente tratada. Duas crianças apresentaram osteomielite, sendo uma com lesão lítica na tíbia e as demais tiveram periostite. Mais de um osso foi afetado em seis lactentes. Os ossos mais afetados foram: tíbia (7/10), fêmur (6/10), úmero (5/10), rádio (2/10) e ulna (2/10). Sintoma comum entre todos foi choro frequente ao movimento de membros superiores ou inferiores, motivo de as mães terem procurado o serviço médico. Discussão: alterações radiológicas são importantes no diagnóstico de SC. Neste estudo, 60% das mães fizeram pré-natal, uma foi tratada corretamente e nenhuma das crianças foi diagnosticada e tratada logo após o nascimento, somente recebendo medicação adequada após o diagnóstico no nosso serviço. Alterações radiológicas da SC podem acontecer em tempo variado após a instalação da infecção. Podem ocorrer diferentes lesões, que incluem lesões da SC precoce: osteomielite diafisária, osteítes e periostite. Osteocondrite afeta áreas da cartilagem em crescimento. Lesões da SC tardia são severas, podem causar deformidades físicas e fratura patológica na criança, necrose de osso e osteólise no adulto e, às vezes associam-se a infecção piogênica ou difusão para tecidos adjacentes, com formações de fístulas cutâneas indolores.

Introduction: syphilis morbidity in intra-uterine life, produces negative outcomes in more than 50% of cases and complications in live births. Bone injuries are frequent in congenital syphilis (CS), occurring in 70 to 100% of the cases. Objective: to report cases of ten infants diagnosed with early SC and bone changes to the radiological examination of long bones, accompanied in the infectology service of HINSG. Case report: ten infants had bone injuries among children hospitalized with CS in HINSG, six female and four male. Half of the metropolitan region of Vitória, two from the interior and three from state of Bahia. Two were less than a month old. Six of the mothers had prenatal care, three were diagnosed with syphilis during pregnancy and only one was properly treated. Two children had osteomyelitis, and with a lytic lesion in the tibia and the other had periostitis. More than one bone was affected in six infants. Bones most affected: tibia (7/10), femur (6/10), humerus (5/10), radio (2/10) and ulna (2/10). Common symptom among all were frequent crying with movement of members. Reason why mothers have sought medical service. Discussion: changes are important in radiological diagnosis of CS. In thisstudy 60% of mothers have prenatal care, one was treated correctly and none of the children were diagnosed and treated soon after birth, only receiving proper medication after diagnosis in our service. Radiological changes of CS may happen after installation according to time of infection. Various injuries may occur, including injuries of CS early: osteomyelitis diaphyseal, osteítes and periostitis. Osteochondritis affects cartilage in areas of growth. Injury of late CS are severe, can cause physical de formities and pathological fracture in children, necrosis of bone and osteolysis in adults and sometimes linking up with pyogenic infection or spread to adjacent tissues, with formation of fistulas skin painless.

Quantitative scintigraphy in diagnosis and management of plantar fasciitis (calcaneal periostitis): concise communication.

We have found that Tc-99m methylene diphosphonate imaging of the heel is of diagnostic value in the "painful heel syndrome," permitting positive identification of the site of inflammation in cases where radiography is unhelpful. With this technique, tracer uptake in the heel is susceptible to quantification, allowing a serial and objective assessment of response to therapy.