Validity and reliability of the Persian version of greenspan social-emotional growth chart.

Background: The estimated prevalence of mental health disorders in children and adolescents is between 10% and 20%. Furthermore, a quarter of very premature infants exhibit socioemotional delays in infancy and childhood. The objective of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of Greenspan social-emotional growth chart (GSEGC) in Persian children aged 1-42 months. Materials and Methods: After translation procedures, the face validity, content validity, construct validity, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency of the GSEGC questionnaire were evaluated. The quality of translating items was obtained using the suggestions of the research group. The face validity of the GSEGC was performed by interviewing with 10 mothers in the target group. To evaluate content validity quantitatively, content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) were used after reviewing the face and content validity and pilot study, 264 parents of children aged 1-42 months completed the GSEGC questionnaire to assess the construct validity and internal consistency. In order to determine the test-retest reliability, after 2 weeks, 18 parents completed the questionnaire again. Results: Eleven questions were changed according to the interviews (questions 1-6, 9-11, and 15-16). The lowest CVR was related to items 30 and 20 (0.636), and other items had an acceptable CVR. The lowest CVI value was related to item 1 of clarity and simplicity (0.818), and other items had an acceptable CVI. Intra-class correlation coefficient was 0.988 for all items of questionnaire. Furthermore, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.952 for all items. In factor analysis, two factors were extracted from the items in questionnaire. Conclusion: The Persian version of GSEGC questionnaire has acceptable face, content and, constructs validity, test-retest reliability and high internal consistency in the target population. Therefore, the Persian version of the GSEGC can be used as a tool to assess 1-42 months sensory processing and socio-emotional development.

Lumbar Multifidus Muscle Morphology Changes in Patient with Different Degrees of Lumbar Disc Herniation: An Ultrasonographic Study.

Background and Objective: Previous studies demonstrated that the prevalence of lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is relatively high. This investigation aimed to evaluate the size of lumbar multifidus (LM) muscle in patients with different degrees of LDH compared to healthy group, during rest and contraction, using ultrasonography. Materials and Methods: In this non-experimental, analytic, and case control study, ultrasound imaging was used to assess cross-sectional area (CSA) and thickness of the LM muscle in 15 healthy subjects and 60 patients with different stages of LDH (bulging group = 15, protrusion group = 15, extrusion group = 15, sequestration group = 15). Measurements were taken bilaterally at the L4-L5 level, during rest and contraction and results were compared between groups. Results: There was a significant difference between healthy subjects and the extrusion and sequestration groups during rest and contraction for LM muscle CSA and thickness (p = 0.001), as LM muscle CSA and thickness were significantly smaller in extrusion and sequestration patient groups compared to healthy subjects. LM atrophy was greater in patients with extrusion and sequestration groups than in patients with bulging and protrusion, both at rest and during contraction. Significant correlations were also observed between functional disability and intensity of pain with LM CSA and thickness measurements. Conclusions: Patients with extrusion and sequestration LDH had smaller LM muscle at rest and during contraction compared to healthy subjects. Larger LDH lesions were associated with decreased LM muscle size. Patient with more pain, disability, and extrusion and sequestration LDH had greater LM size changes. LM muscle size was not correlated with symptom duration. Further investigation with greater sample size is warranted.

Do NICU developmental care improve cognitive and motor outcomes for preterm infants? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to review the effects of developmental care in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setting on mental and motor development of preterm infants. METHOD: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane library until October 8th 2017, and included randomized controlled trials that assessed effects of developmental care in NICU on mental and motor development of preterm infants at 12 and 24 months of age, using the Bayley scale of infant development in this systematic review. In addition, data were pooled by random effects model and Standardized Mean Difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), calculated for meta-analysis. RESULTS: Twenty one studies were eligible to be included in this systematic review; however, only thirteen studies had data suitable for meta-analysis. According to statistical analysis, developmental care in NICU improved mental developmental index (MDI) (standardized mean difference [SMD] 0.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.23-0.87; p < 0.05), and psychomotor developmental index (PDI) (SMD 0.33, [CI] 95% CI 0.08-0.57; p < 0.05) of BSID at 12 months of age and PDI at 24 months of age (SMD 0.15, 95% CI -0.02-0.32; p < 0.1) of preterm infants. However, the benefit was not detected at 24 months of age on MDI (SMD 0.15, 95% CI -0.05-0.35; p = 0.15). CONCLUSION: Current evidence suggests that developmental care in only NICU setting could have significant effect on mental and motor development of preterm infants, especially at 12 months of age. However, because of clinical heterogeneity, more studies are needed to evaluate the effects of developmental NICU care in the development of preterm infants.

Comparative Study of Abdominal Muscle Thickness on Ultrasonography in Healthy Adolescents and Patients With Low Back Pain.

OBJECTIVES: Low back pain (LBP) is a common musculoskeletal disorder among different age groups, including adolescents. The purpose of this study was to compare the abdominal muscle thickness between healthy adolescents and those with LBP. METHODS: One hundred sixty healthy high school adolescents and 80 high school adolescents with LBP participated in the study. All participants were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire and also a visual analog scale and the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire to evaluate the pain intensity and functional disability. Then abdominal muscle thickness was examined with ultrasonography. RESULTS: The healthy high adolescents included 80 boys and 80 girls, and the adolescents with LBP included 40 boys and 40 girls. The results showed a significant difference between healthy adolescents and those with LBP in terms of abdominal muscle thickness (P < .05). Patients with LBP had smaller abdominal muscles compared with healthy adolescents. No significant difference was found between the groups in terms of the subcutaneous fat dimension (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: The thickness of abdominal muscles was lower in adolescents with LBP. Future studies with a larger sample and a wider age range are recommended to support the results of this study.

A Comparison of the Abdominal and Lumbar Multifidus Muscle Size in Patients With Lumbar Spondylolisthesis and Healthy Patients at Rest and During Contraction Using Ultrasonography.

OBJECTIVE: Using ultrasonography, this study investigated the abdominal and lumbar multifidus muscle size in patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis compared with healthy patients at rest and during contraction. METHODS: This research was a nonexperimental, analytic case-control study. Ultrasound imaging was used to assess the thickness of the abdominal and lumbar multifidus muscles in 25 healthy patients and 25 patients with spondylolisthesis. For the purpose of this study, both men and women, aged 30 to 70 years, were recruited from physiotherapy clinics affiliated with the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Measurements were taken at rest and during contraction. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in abdominal and lumbar multifidus muscle size between the healthy and spondylolisthesic groups, both at rest and contraction (P < .05 in all instances). No significant difference was found between the right and left for all measurements (P > .05). CONCLUSION: Patients with spondylolisthesis had smaller stabilizer muscle thickness at rest and during contraction compared with the healthy group.

The prevalence of low back pain in Iranian dentists: An epidemiological study.

OBJECTIVE: Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common and prevalent work-related conditions. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and risk factors associated with LBP in dentists and to analyze the association between individual and occupational characteristics and LBP. METHODS: Following ethical approval, 300 dentists from Tehran Iran have voluntarily participated. Different questionnaires were completed to collect personal, occupational characteristics and the prevalence and risk factors of LBP. Visual analogue scale and Oswestry disability questionnaires were used to determine pain intensity and level of functional disability. RESULTS: The results indicated that point, last month, last six month, last year and lifetime prevalence of LBP were 24.6%, 24.9%, 27.7%, 28.1% and 31.4%, respectively. A significant correlation was found between the prevalence of LBP and preventive strategies, general health condition, having an assistant and job satisfaction. Body mass index, age and gender were not significantly correlated with the prevalence of Low back pain. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of Low back pain in dentists appears to be high. Further studies focusing on the effectiveness of different preventive strategies are recommended.

Reliability of surface electromyography in the assessment of paraspinal muscle fatigue: an updated systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to review the literature to determine whether surface electromyography (EMG) is a reliable tool to assess paraspinal muscle fatigue in healthy subjects and in patients with low back pain (LBP). METHODS: A literature search for the period of 2000 to 2012 was performed, using PubMed, ProQuest, Science Direct, EMBASE, OVID, CINAHL, and MEDLINE databases. Electromyography, reliability, median frequency, paraspinal muscle, endurance, low back pain, and muscle fatigue were used as keywords. RESULTS: The literature search yielded 178 studies using the above keywords. Twelve articles were selected according to the inclusion criteria of the study. In 7 of the 12 studies, the surface EMG was only applied in healthy subjects, and in 5 studies, the reliability of surface EMG was investigated in patients with LBP or a comparison with a control group. In all of these studies, median frequency was shown to be a reliable EMG parameter to assess paraspinal muscles fatigue. There was a wide variation among studies in terms of methodology, surface EMG parameters, electrode location, procedure, and homogeneity of the study population. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that there seems to be a convincing body of evidence to support the merit of surface EMG in the assessment of paraspinal muscle fatigue in healthy subject and in patients with LBP.

Reliability of ultrasonography to measure cervical multifidus, semispinalis cervicis and longus colli muscles dimensions in patients with unilateral cervical disc herniation: An observational cross-sectional test-retest study.

BACKGROUND: Ultrasonography (US) has been suggested to assess the morphology and function of cervical muscles; but little is known about the reliability of the US measures in patients with cervical disc herniation (CDH). The purpose of this study was to evaluate within-day inter and intra-rater and between-day intra-rater reliability of US to measure dimensions of deep cervical muscles in patients with unilateral CDH. METHODS: Thirty patients with unilateral CDH participated. Anterior-posterior and lateral dimension of longus colli (LC), multifidus (MF) and semispinalis cervicis (SC) were measured using B-mode ultrasound. The measurements were repeated by rater A 1 h (for within-day reliability) and one week (for between-day reliability) later. For inter-rater reliability, rater B performed all muscles measurements like rater A. RESULTS: Within-day reliability measurement for all muscles was good to excellent with IntraClass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) ranging from 0.82 to 0.96, standard error of measurement (SEM) from 0.18 to 0.46 and minimal detectable changes (MDC) from 0.43 to 1.09. Between-day reliability was good for all muscle dimensions with ICC ranging from 0.75 to 0.89, SEM from 0.30 to 0.64 and MDC from 0.71 to 1.52. Inter-rater reliability was also good with ICC ranging from 0.75 to 0.89, SEM from 0.34 to 0.65 and MDC from 0.81 to 1.55. CONCLUSIONS: US was demonstrated to have high within-day inter and intra-rater and between-day intra-rater reliability to measure muscles dimensions in patients with unilateral CDH. It can be used to assess deep cervical muscles or to monitor the effects of interventions.

The Effect of Leg Dominance and Group Difference in Star Excursion Balance Test between Individuals with Chronic Ankle Instability, Ankle Sprain Copers and Healthy Controls.

Objectives: To evaluate patients with chronic ankle instability (CAI), copers who had a sprain without instability, and healthy controls using the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT). In addition, the reach distance was assessed between the both legs in terms of dominant and non-dominant in all groups. Methods: A total of 75 subjects (25 healthy, 25 CAI, and 25 Coper) participated. The maximum reach distance in SEBT was assessed in anterior (ANT), postero-medial (PM), and postero-lateral (PL) directions in both legs for each subject. All data were analyzed by SPSS version 21. Tukey post hoc test was used to compare all groups. Paired T-test was used to compare dominant and non-dominant legs in each group. Results: In 75 subjects have participated in the data collection, no significant differences were reported among all groups for age and BMI measurements. Significant lower reach distance in scores of ANT in the dominant leg of the CAI was demonstrated when compared with the control and the coper groups (P=0.008). No statistical significant difference was determined between the dominant and non-dominant legs in each group (P>0.05). Conclusion: It seems that relevant strategies for postural control should be taken into account in the rehabilitation setup of individuals with CAI.

Sonoelastography and Lumbopelvic Muscle Stiffness in Patients with Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review:.

This study aimed to systematically review studies conducted on the application of sonoelastography (SE) to evaluate lumbopelvic muscle stiffness in patients with low back pain (LBP). All relevant articles were retrieved from the available electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE, Cochrane library, and CINAHL, using the keywords "Sonoelastography", "Elasticity Imaging Technique", "Muscle Stiffness", "Modulus Elasticity", "Low Back Pain". After initial searches, studies that met the inclusion criteria (i.e., published in English and sonoelastography were used to assess lumbopelvic muscle stiffness in both patients with LBP and healthy individuals) were enrolled. Also, any animal research, abstract of the seminar and/or conference, and/or non-English-language article were excluded. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale. In total, eight relevant studies were selected for review. Three studies were considered to have excellent quality, and five were considered fair quality using the PEDro scale. All reviewed studies have reported that SE can be considered a non-invasive method for quantifying changes in lumbopelvic muscle stiffness. Muscle stiffness was significantly higher in LBP patients compared to healthy persons, as well as across subgroups of LBP patients in various test postures (P˂0.05). Only one study was conducted on the reliability of SE in healthy individuals, while another examined the validity of SE imaging. The results of the present systematic review indicated that SE imaging is a reliable and valid tool to identify muscle changes that occur in patients with LBP and evaluate the effects of rehabilitation treatment.

Test of infant motor performance: Cross-cultural adaptation, validity and reliability in Persian infants.

BACKGROUND: The Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) is an appropriate tool used to measure infant motor performance in many countries and due to the importance of the TIMP in the early diagnosis of infants with developmental delay, the production of a reliable translation of the TIMP in Iran is necessary. AIMS: This study was designed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the TIMP and cross-cultural adaptation of the TIMP to Persian. METHOD: Twenty- two experts were involved in translation, cross-cultural adaptation, validity and reliability. 170 Persian premature infants with post menstrual age (PMA) 34-42 weeks were tested to evaluate inter-rater and intra-rater reliability, test-retest and discriminative validity of the Persian version of the TIMP. RESULTS: The content validity and face validity of the items of the Persian version of the TIMP were confirmed by a 10-expert panel and 10 therapists. High intra- and inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.98, Kappa = 0.93), test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.98) and internal consistency (α = 0.82) were detected for the Persian version of the TIMP. Discriminative validity confirmed that the TIMP could distinguish groups of infants born with a low birth weight (p ˂ 0.001) and infants born small for gestational age (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: High validity and reliability are reported for the Persian version of the TIMP and this test was demonstrated to be differentiate among groups of infants who are at risk of motor delay.

Changes in sexual activities, function, and satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic era: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Little is known about the impact of the coronavirus on sexual behavior, function, and satisfaction. Aim: The aim of the present study was to systematically review people's sexual function and behaviors and their changes in sexual activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Comprehensive searches in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus were conducted with keywords in accordance with MeSH terms: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, sexual health, sexual function, sexual dysfunctions, sexuality, sexual orientation, sexual activities, and premarital sex. Two reviewers independently assessed full-text articles according to predefined criteria: original design, English studies, and investigating either the general population or sexual minorities. Results: Risk of bias in the studies was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, and data were pooled via random effects meta-analyses. We utilized the standardized mean difference to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on sexual activity, functioning, and satisfaction. We included 19 studies in the analysis and 11 studies in the meta-analysis, with a sample size of 12 350. To investigate sexual activity changes, a sample size of 8838 was entered into the subgroup analysis, which showed a significant decrease in both genders (5821 women, P < .033; 3017 men, P < .008). A subgroup meta-analysis showed that the sexual function of men and women during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly declined (3974 women, P < .001; 1427 men, P < .001). Sexual desire and arousal decreased in both genders, though mainly in women. In investigating sexual satisfaction changes during the COVID-19 pandemic, a meta-analysis with a sample size of 2711 showed a significant decrease (P < .001). The most indicative changes in sexual behaviors during the pandemic were the increase in masturbating and usage of sex toys. Greater COVID-19 knowledge was associated with lower masturbation, oral sex, and vaginal sex. The more protective behaviors were associated with less hugging, kissing, cuddling, genital touching, watching porn with a partner, and vaginal sex. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic led to increased challenges and changes for individuals' sexual behaviors. Efforts for preventive strategies should therefore be concentrated between pandemics, while ensuring that there is information available to the population during a pandemic for help in times of psychological distress or crisis.

Sonoelastography of Multifidus, Piriformis, Quadratus Lumborum, and Gluteus Medius Muscles in Patients with Unilateral Discogenic Lumbar Pain and Healthy Subjects: A Reliability Study.

Background: This study aimed to estimate the within-day and between-day reliabilities of sonoelastography to measure the strain ratios of lumbopelvic muscles, including multifidus (MF), piriformis (P), quadratus lumborum (QL), and gluteus medius (GM), in a resting position by the sonoelastography device in both patients with unilateral discogenic lumbar pain and healthy individuals. Failthe treatment of deep infection of peri-articular fracture fixation. Methods: First of all, the participants (n=25) were enrolled in this study, including patients (n=15) and healthy subjects (n=10). In the first session, an examiner estimated the strain ratio of lumbopelvic muscle three times by sonoelastography. The last session was held at a one-week interval. The collected data were analyzed using an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and a standard error of measurement. Results: The ICC calculated for MF, P, QL, and GM measurements indicated good to excellent reliabilities in both healthy and patient groups for within- and between-intra-examiner reliabilities, which were obtained at 0.94-0.91 and 0.86-0.86, 0.87-0.89 and 0.82-0.82, 0.88-0.86 and 0.86-0.86, 0.88-0.84 and 0.84-0.84, respectively. Furthermore, the standard errors of intra-examiner reliability for MF, P, QL, and GM strain ratio measurements in both healthy and subject groups were estimated at the ranges of 0.52-0.51 and 0.64-0.65, 0.60-0.62 and 0.77-0.78, 0.23-0.25 and 0.25-0.25, 0.25-026 and 0.30-0.35, respectively. Conclusion: The results revealed that sonoelastography seemed to be a reliable instrument to measure MF, P, QL, and GM muscle strain ratios in healthy subjects and patients with unilateral lumbar radicular pain. However, further studies are recommended to support the findings of the present study in other patients.

Reliability of Ultrasound Imaging of the Trunk Musculature in Athletes with and without Hamstring Injuries.

BACKGROUND: Trunk muscles play an important role in providing both mobility and stability during dynamic tasks in athletes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the within-day and between-day reliability of ultrasound (US) in measuring abdominal and lumbar multifidus muscle (MF) thickness in athletes with and without hamstring strain injury (HSI). METHODS: Fifteen male soccer players (18-30 years old) with and without HSI were evaluated using two US probes (50 mm linear 7.5 MHZ and 70 mm curvilinear 5 MHz). The abdominal muscle thickness as well as the cross sectional area (CSA) of the MF was measured. To determine within and between days reliabilities, the second and third measurements were repeated with two hours and one week intervals, respectively. RESULTS: Intraclass correlation coefficients for athletes with and without HSI demonstrated good to high reliability for the abdominal muscle thickness (0.82 and 0.93) and CSA of the MF muscle (0.84 and 0.89, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that US seemed to be a reliable instrument to measure abdominal and lumbar multifidus muscle thickness in soccer players with and without HSI. However, further studies are recommended to support the present study findings in other athletes.

Eligibility of the movement-based classification systems in the diagnosis of patients with low back pain: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the eligibility of the movement-based classification systems in the diagnosis of patients with low back pain. METHODS: The present systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta -Analysis guidelines. Different databases including PubMed, Science Direct, OVID, MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, ProQuest and Google Scholar were searched from January 1990 to December 2017. All studies assessed the reliability and validity of the movement-based classification systems to diagnose patients with low back pain were included. The keywords used to search the studies were: "reliability", "validity", "classification", "movement impairment" and "low back pain". Study selection and data extraction were performed by two independent reviewers. RESULTS: Sixteen articles were met the inclusion criteria. Of these articles, 13 studies assessed the reliability and validity of movement-based classification systems to categorize patients with low back pain. Two out of 16 articles compared patients with low back pain and healthy subjects and one article had no control group. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the reviewed studies demonstrated that movement-based classification systems are valid and reliable enough to categorize patients with low back pain.

Reliability of sonography in the assessment of lumbar stabilizer muscles size in healthy subjects and patients with scoliosis.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to compare the reliability of sonography in the evaluation of abdominal and multifidus muscles size between healthy subjects and patients with scoliosis. METHODS: In this study, 20 healthy males and 20 male patients with scoliosis (20-50 years old) were recruited. Multifidus and abdominal muscles (transversus abdominis, internal and external oblique) size were assessed by sonography. Three images were recorded; the first and second images were taken on the same day with an hour interval to evaluate within-day reliability, and the third image was taken one-week later to assess between-day reliability. RESULTS: Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC = 0.82-0.91) demonstrated high within-day reliability of sonography in the assessment of abdominal muscle thickness in both groups. In addition, high between-day reliability was observed for these muscles in both healthy and patient groups (ICC = 0.80-0.89). Within-day and also between-day reliability of multifidus muscle were shown to be high in the healthy group (ICC = 0.81-0.88) and the patient group (ICC = 0.78-0.85). Overall, within-day reliability was higher than between-day reliability and also the reliability of sonography in healthy subjects was greater than of those suffering from scoliosis. CONCLUSIONS: According to the results, sonography was shown to be a highly reliable imaging technique for assessment of abdominal and multifidus muscle size in healthy males and those suffering from scoliosis.

Ultrasound measurement of abdominal muscles during clinical isometric endurance tests in women with and without low back pain.

PURPOSE: The present study investigated group differences between the thickness changes of the transverse abdominis (TrA), internal oblique (IO), and external oblique (EO) muscles, during performance of the isometric supine chest raise and the supine double leg-straight leg raise tests in women with and without low back pain (LBP). METHOD: Twenty women with LBP and 20 women without LBP participated in this case-control study. The thickness of the right TrA, IO, and EO muscles was measured using B-mode ultrasound (US) at rest, immediately at the beginning of performing the tests and when participants in both groups self-reported fatigue. The percentage of change in thickness of the abdominal muscles from rest to the initiation and fatigue stages of both tests was measured. RESULTS: The results indicate a statistically significant difference in the pattern of changes in deep (TrA) and superficial (EO) abdominal muscles thickness at the fatigue stage of the supine double straight-leg raise (SDSLR) test between groups (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between groups for the abdominal muscles thicknesses change at rest or during stages of the clinical isometric endurance tests (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: An altered activation pattern in the deep (TrA) and superficial (EO) muscles of LBP participants during fatigue stage of the SDSLR test as compared to controls indicates motor control dysfunction in the LBP group. Comparison of the activity of TrA and EO muscles during fatigue stage of SDSLR test can be used to assess alterations in motor control of abdominal muscles.

Prevalence of musculoskeletal pains and effect of work-related factors among employees on offshore oil and gas installations in Iran.

BACKGROUND: Work-related musculoskeletal pain is usually caused by poor physical conditions, repetitive motion, and adverse environmental and psychological situations. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and their work-related factors among employees on offshore oil and gas installations in Iran. METHODS: Standardized Nordic Questionnaire was used to collect data. The relationship of musculoskeletal pain with job type, rest breaks, exercise, shift program, and work period was studied among employees on offshore installations. T-test and ANOVA were used for data analysis. RESULTS: Employees on offshore installations were exposed to high levels of risk of musculoskeletal pain in their knees and back. Consequently, they reported the highest level of complaints of pain in the neck and lower back areas. Workers in drilling and tour-scheduling jobs reported the highest level of musculoskeletal pain. In the course of seven days and 12 months, the highest level of significant relationship was observed between the limbs and the work periods (tour scheduling or days-off) of the staff. CONCLUSION: The findings showed that the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among employees of offshore facilities was high due to inappropriate working conditions such as repetitive work, lifting heavy loads and limited rest periods. Therefore, strategies must be considered to reduce the effects of disorders.

Normal values of abdominal muscles thickness in healthy children using ultrasonography.

Abdominal muscles are one of the important elements to support the lumbar spine. Evaluation of muscle thickness using ultrasonography (US) is considered to be a source of information from muscles characteristics. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate normal reference data of abdominal muscles thickness and subcutaneous fat in adolescents using US. A random sample of 160 healthy adolescents (80 boys and 80 girls) at the age range of 15-18 years was recruited. Three abdominal muscles including Transversus Abdominis (TA), Internal Oblique (IO), External Oblique (EO) and subcutaneous fat (SF) were bilaterally measured using US. The range of normal values for TA muscle thickness was between 2.31 and 2.57 mm, for IO muscle thickness was between 4.02 and 5.15 mm and for EO muscle thickness was between 2.81 and 3.17 mm. The normal patterns of abdominal muscles were found as IO > EO > TA at both sides. Boys were taller, heavier with greater body mass index (BMI) and had larger abdominal muscles thickness than girls. A weak negative correlation was found between age and muscles size [r = (-0.06) - (-0.23), p < .05], but a significant positive correlation was found between BMI and muscle size (r = 0.21-0.68, p < .05). It seems that abdominal muscles thickness in adolescents followed the same pattern of muscle size in adults. BMI appeared to be the best predictor of muscle thickness. However, further studies are recommended to support the findings of the present study.

Multifidus muscle size in adolescents with and without back pain using ultrasonography.

OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were; a) to compare multifidus muscle cross sectional area (CSA) in male adolescents suffering from low back pain (LBP) with healthy male adolescents using ultrasonography (US), and b) to assess the correlation between multifidus muscle size and demographic variables. METHODS: A random sample of 40 healthy boys (as a control group) and 40 boys with LBP (as an experimental group) at the age range of 15-18 years was recruited in the present cohort study. Multifidus muscle dimensions including CSA, antero-posterior and medio-lateral dimensions were measured at level of L5 in both groups using US. RESULTS: The results of an independent t-test to compare multifidus muscle size between the experimental and control groups showed a significant difference between the two groups in terms of CSA, antro-posterior and medio-lateral dimensions so that the experimental group had smaller muscle size than the control group. A significant correlation was found between height, weight and body mass index (BMI) and multifidus muscle size, but no significant correlation was observed between age and muscle size. Pain intensity and functional disability index was significantly correlated with muscle size in the experimental group. CONCLUSIONS: According to the results, multifidus muscle size was decreased in 15-18 years old male adolescents suffering from LBP compared with their healthy counterparts. Further studies are needed to support the findings of the present study.