The effects of Pilates training on abdominal muscle thickness and core endurance in patients with Parkinson's disease: a single-blind controlled clinical study.

BACKGROUND: This study aims at examining the effects of Pilates training on the transversus abdominis (TrA) and internal obliques (IO) muscle thickness and core endurance in different positions in patients with Parkinson's Disease. METHODS: Patients were divided into 2 groups as Pilates training (n = 13) and control (n = 10) groups. Pilates training was performed twice a week for 6 weeks. The participants' muscle thickness and core endurance were measured at the beginning of the study (pretraining), and the effectiveness of Pilates training was then assessed in the 6th week (posttraining) and in the 12th-week follow-up. The thickness of the TrA and IO muscles was measured with a two-dimensional ultrasonography device. Core endurance was assessed with prone bridge and sit-ups tests. RESULTS: The assessments of the Pilates training group after the 6-week showed a statistically significant increase in the prone bridge and sit-ups test performances, and an increase in the thickness of the IO muscle [during resting in the supine position and abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM) in standing position] and the TrA muscle (during ADIM in the standing position) (p < 0.05). Pilates exercises were also shown to have improved core muscle endurance and thickness (IO thickness during ADIM in the standing position and TrA thickness during resting in the supine position, ADIM in the supine and standing position) in the Pilates training group after a period of 18 weeks (p < 0.05). DISCUSSION: Pilates training has a favorable effect on the core endurance, and the TrA and IO muscle thickness of patients with Parkinson's disease and this effect can be maintained until three months after the training.

The relationship between screen exposure and neck disability, headache, stress, depression, and anxiety in university students.

OBJECTIVES: In recent years, with the development of technology, screen exposure among university students has increased and caused various physical and psychological effects. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between screen exposure and neck disability, headache, stress, depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders in university students. METHODS: Two hundred and twenty-six students were evaluated online in this study. Study outcomes were headache, depression, anxiety, stress, neck disability, and sleep quality. RESULTS: When the screen exposure was examined, it was observed that the stress, anxiety, and depression levels of the students increased as the smartphone use increased (p<0.05). Headache severity (p=0.028) in those who use smartphones for 7 h or more; It was observed that the frequency of severe neck disability increased in those who used a smartphone or computer for 7 h or more (p=0.005, p=0.026). CONCLUSION: To prevent physical and psychological problems that may arise due to the increase in screen use time in university students, it is necessary to monitor the frequency of screen use of the students, to organize trainings that explain the physical and psychological effects of long-term screen exposure and increase the level of awareness.

Effects of Pilates and Elastic Taping on Balance and Postural Control in Early Stage Parkinson's Disease Patients: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Pilates training and elastic taping on balance and postural control in patients with early stage Parkinson's Disease (PD). METHOD: Patients were randomly divided into Pilates, elastic taping, and control (wait list) groups. Pilates training was performed for 6 weeks, twice a week and 60 minutes per session. In elastic taping group, in addition to Pilates training, elastic taping was applied to the upper back twice a week for 6 weeks with the aim of postural correction. In order to evaluate the postural control before and after the training, Berg Balance Scale, Trunk Impairment Scale, the tests of NeuroCom Balance Master performance test device as Limits of stability (LOS), Sit-to Stand, Walk Across and Tandem Walking Tests were performed. RESULTS: The data of 20 patients (6 male in Pilates group, 2 female and 6 male in elastic taping group, 3 female and 3 male in control group) were analyzed. Reaction times in LOS test decreased significantly and walking speed in Walk Across test increased significantly after 6 weeks in Pilates and elastic taping groups. In elastic taping group, the postural sways of Tandem Walk test were decreased significantly and, the rising index in Sit-to-Stand test increased significantly after 6 weeks (Wilcoxon Test, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: We believe that Pilates is a feasible rehabilitation strategy for PD, and it has a remedial effect on the dynamic balance and postural control for these patients. We also think that elastic taping could be applied for supporting the right posture.

Validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Physical Workload Questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: Although it is necessary to regularly record and assess physical workloads in a workplace to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders, there is no easy to use, valid and reliable questionnaire such as the Physical Workload Questionnaire (PWQ) in Turkish. OBJECTIVE: To linguistically and culturally adapt the PWQ into Turkish, and to examine the validity and reliability of this adapted version. METHODS: One hundred twenty-six participants were recruited. All participants filled in the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. To determine test-retest reliability, all participants filled in the PWQ after a time interval of one week. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the PWQ indices between the participants with an occupation requires less vs. higher workload (p < 0.05). The PWQ index was significantly correlated with the proximal musculoskeletal symptoms (ρ= 0.301, p < 0.05), but not significantly correlated with distal musculoskeletal symptoms (ρ= 0.121, p > 0.05). The PWQ index was significantly correlated with the ODI (ρ= 0.193, p < 0.05). The internal consistency of the PWQ was excellent (α= 0.865) and item-total correlations were acceptable. Test-retest reliability was high (ICC = 0.865). CONCLUSIONS: The PWQ is the unique valid and reliable questionnaire available in Turkish for assessing physical workload due to body posture and strenuous effort during work.

Validity and Reliability of the Turkish Version of the 8-Item Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire.

INTRODUCTION: Symptomatic control and improvement of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a key feature of the management of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The 39-item Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ) and its short version, PDQ-8, validated disease-specific patient-reported instruments, have been highly recommended to use for assessing HRQoL in patients with PD. The aim of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the PDQ-8. METHODS: Eighty-three patients with PD were recruited for this methodological and cross-sectional study. The PDQ-8 was repeated to assess the test-retest reliability after one-week interval. The participants completed the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) as a generic HRQoL previously validated in Turkey. The Hoehn & Yahr stages of the patients were also determined. The SF-36 and Hoehn & Yahr stages were used to assess the convergent validity of the PDQ-8. RESULTS: The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.78 (95% CI: 0.70-0.84, p<0.001) for PDQ-8. The test-retest reliability was very high as the intra-class correlation coefficient was 0.97 (95% CI: 0.93-0.99, p<0.001). The PDQ-8 had significant correlations with the physical and mental component scores of SF-36 (ρ=-0.52, p<0.001 and ρ=-0.64, p<0.001, respectively) and Hoehn & Yahr stages (ρ=0.56, p<0.001). There was no evidence of floor or ceiling effects. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that the Turkish version of the PDQ-8 is a reliable, valid, less time-consuming, and brief disease-specific instrument to assess HRQoL in patients with Parkinson's disease.

The association between self-reported low back pain and lower limb disability as well as the association between neck pain and upper limb disability.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between self-reported low back pain (LBP) and lower limb disability as well as the association between neck pain and upper limb disability. METHODS: A hundred twenty-six participants registered as a healthcare staff member were included in this cross-sectional study. The presence of neck and LBP were determined using the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Neck and LBP/disability were measured with the Neck Pain and Disability Scale (NPDS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), respectively. Upper and lower limb disability were measured with the Quick Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (Quick-DASH) and Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), respectively. RESULTS: Participants reporting LBP had more musculoskeletal complaints in the lower limbs (p<0.001) and similarly participants reporting neck pain also reported more musculoskeletal complaints in the upper limbs (p<0.001). There was a correlation between the ODI and WOMAC in the participant reporting LBP during the 12 months (ρ=0.510, p<0.001) and during the last 7 days (ρ=0.674, p<0.001). The NPAD was correlated with the Quick-DASH in the participants reporting neck pain during the last 12 months (ρ=0.659, p<0.001) and the last 7 days (ρ=0.734, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: People reporting more severe LBP also reported high levels of lower limb disability. This association was also existing between the neck pain and upper limb disability.

The prevalence differences of musculoskeletal problems and related physical workload among hospital staff.

BACKGROUND: The musculoskeletal problems (MSP) vary among different occupations since they had different characteristics and physical workloads. Therefore, it is important to know the difference between the occupational groups to design preventing physiotherapy interventions. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence differences of MSPs and related physical workload among hospital staff. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 416 hospital staff completed the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire for MSP and Physical Workload Questionnaire for assessing the physical workload. RESULTS: One-year prevalence of low back, neck, upper back, and shoulders were 73.8%, 59.9%, 59.4%, and 52.2%, respectively. The most preventing MSPs from work found in the low back (39.2%), upper back (26.7%), and the neck (24.5%). MSP of low back impacted nurses the most with a 1-year prevalence of 81.3% and 57.1% of nurses were prevented from working. Nurses, service and cleaning staff had significantly more physical workload than secretaries and physicians. CONCLUSIONS: MSP of low back had the highest prevalence among hospital staff and it was the leading cause which prevented from working. Nurses were the most in danger in terms of MSPs among hospital staff. Physical workload was significantly higher in nurses, service and cleaning staff than secretaries and physicians.

The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire: cross-cultural adaptation into Turkish assessing its psychometric properties.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to linguistically and culturally adapt the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) for use in Turkey, and to examine the psychometric properties of this adapted version. METHOD: The cross-cultural adaptation was achieved by translating the items from the original version, with back-translation performed by independent mother-tongue translators, followed by committee review. Reliability (internal consistency and test-retest) was examined for 198 participants who completed the NMQ twice (with a 1 week interval). Construct validity was examined with data from 126 participants from the same population, who completed further four questionnaires related to the body regions described in the NMQ. RESULTS: The internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach's alpha = 0.896). The test-retest reliability was examined with the prevalence-adjusted bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK) and all items showed moderate to almost perfect reliability (PABAK = 0.57-0.90). Participants with a musculoskeletal problem in a related region had significantly more disability/pain, as assessed by the relevant questionnaires (p < 0.001), indicating that the NMQ had a good construct validity. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided considerable evidence that the Turkish version of the NMQ has appropriate psychometric properties, including good test-retest reliability, internal consistency and construct validity. It can be used for screening and epidemiological investigations of musculoskeletal symptoms. Implications for Rehabilitation The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) can be used for the screening of musculoskeletal problems. The NMQ allows comparison of musculoskeletal problems in different body regions in epidemiological studies with large numbers of participants. The Turkish version of the NMQ can be used for rehabilitation due to its appropriate psychometric properties, including good test-retest reliability, internal consistency and construct validity.