[Efficacy of high-intensity exercise in people with chronic low back pain: A systematic review]. / Eficacia del ejercicio de alta intensidad en personas con dolor lumbar crónico: una revisión sistemática.

Chronic low back pain causes disability and socioeconomic impact. High-intensity exercise shows positive results in other diseases, but there is no evidence on this pathology. The aim is to determine its efficacy on health-related quality of life, disability, pain intensity and adherence to treatment in people with chronic low back pain. A literature review is conducted in Pubmed, PEDro and Scopus, including randomized clinical trials, clinical practice guidelines and systematic reviews in Spanish, English or Portuguese (2012-2022). In addition, a snowball search is performed. Eight randomized clinical trials (n=379) are incorporated. Different high-intensity exercise modalities are analyzed, which seem to improve health-related quality of life and reduce disability and pain intensity. These data should be taken with caution given the small number of studies and the risk of bias presented.

[Virtual reality for therapeutic purposes in stroke: A systematic review]. / Realidad virtual con fines terapéuticos en pacientes con ictus: revisión sistemática.

INTRODUCTION: Virtual reality (VR) is used in the field of rehabilitation/physical therapy to improve patients' functional abilities. The last 5 years have yielded numerous publications on the use of VR in patients with neurological disease which aim to establish whether this therapeutic resource contributes to the recovery of motor function. DEVELOPMENT: The following databases were reviewed: Cochrane Original, Joanna Briggs Connect, Medline/Pubmed, Cinahl, Scopus, Isi Web of Science, and Sport-Discus. We included articles published in the last 5 years in English and/or Spanish, focusing on using RV to improve motor function in patients with stroke. From this pool, we selected 4 systematic reviews and 21 controlled and/or randomised trials. Most studies focused on increasing motor function in the upper limbs, and/or improving performance of activities of daily living. An additional article examines use of the same technique to increase motor function in the lower limb and/or improve walking and static-dynamic balance. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Strong scientific evidence supports the beneficial effects of VR on upper limb motor recovery in stroke patients. Further studies are needed to fully determine which changes are generated in cortical reorganisation, what type of VR system is the most appropriate, whether benefits are maintained in the long term, and which frequencies and intensities of treatment are the most suitable.