The Influence of Active, Passive, and Manual Therapy Interventions for Low Back Pain on Opioid Prescription and Health Care Utilization.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore associations between the utilization of active, passive, and manual therapy interventions for low back pain (LBP) with 1-year escalation-of-care events, including opioid prescriptions, spinal injections, specialty care visits, and hospitalizations. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of 4827 patients identified via the Military Health System Data Repository who received physical therapist care for LBP in 4 outpatient clinics between January 1, 2015 and January 1, 2018. One-year escalation-of-care events were evaluated based on type of physical therapist interventions (ie, active, passive, or manual therapy) received using adjusted odds ratios. RESULTS: Most patients (89.9%) received active interventions. Patients with 10% higher proportion of visits that included at least 1 passive intervention had a 3% to 6% higher likelihood of 1-year escalation-of-care events. Similarly, with 10% higher proportion of passive to active interventions used during the course of care, there was a 5% to 11% higher likelihood of 1-year escalation-of-care events. When compared to patients who received active interventions only, the likelihood of incurring 1-year escalation-of-care events was 50% to 220% higher for those who received mechanical traction and 2 or more different passive interventions, but lower by 50% for patients who received manual therapy. CONCLUSION: Greater use of passive interventions for LBP was associated with elevated odds of 1-year escalation-of-care events. In addition, the use of specific passive interventions such as mechanical traction in conjunction with active interventions resulted in suboptimal escalation-of-care events, while the use of manual therapy was associated with more favorable downstream health care outcomes. IMPACT: Physical therapists should be judicious in the use of passive interventions for the management of LBP as they are associated with greater likelihood of receiving opioid prescriptions, spinal injections, and specialty care visits.

Select Manual Assessment Techniques and Clinical Reasoning Skills Used in Canine Physical Rehabilitation Before Engaging in Manual Therapy Treatment.

Manual therapy is a cornerstone of physical therapy and canine physical rehabilitation. Although veterinary literature has tackled the topic of manual therapy treatments in animal patients, less attention has been paid to the assessment techniques and clinical reasoning skills that guide a practitioner toward determining if, when, and where manual therapies will be most effective. This article tackles the topics of clinical reasoning, the functional diagnosis, observational skills, and physical evaluation techniques that serve as prerequisites to the use of manual therapeutics.

A Systematic Review of Clinical Practice Guidelines for Persons With Non-specific Low Back Pain With and Without Radiculopathy: Identification of Best Evidence for Rehabilitation to Develop the WHO's Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE: To Identify evidence-based rehabilitation interventions for persons with non-specific low back pain (LBP) with and without radiculopathy and to develop recommendations from high-quality clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) to inform the World Health Organization's (WHO) Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation (PIR). DATA SOURCE: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, National Health Services Economic Evaluation Database, Health Technology Assessment Database, PEDro, the Trip Database, the Index to Chiropractic Literature and the gray literature. STUDY SELECTION: Eligible guidelines were (1) published between 2009 and 2019 in English, French, Italian, or Swedish; (2) included adults or children with non-specific LBP with or without radiculopathy; and (3) assessed the benefits of rehabilitation interventions on functioning. Pairs of independent reviewers assessed the quality of the CPGs using AGREE II. DATA SYNTHESIS: We identified 4 high-quality CPGs. Recommended interventions included (1) education about recovery expectations, self-management strategies, and maintenance of usual activities; (2) multimodal approaches incorporating education, exercise, and spinal manipulation; (3) nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs combined with education in the acute stage; and (4) intensive interdisciplinary rehabilitation that includes exercise and cognitive/behavioral interventions for persistent pain. We did not identify high-quality CPGs for people younger than 16 years of age. CONCLUSION: We developed evidence-based recommendations from high-quality CPGs to inform the WHO PIR for people with LBP with and without radiculopathy. These recommendations emphasize the potential benefits of education, exercise, manual therapy, and cognitive/behavioral interventions.

Beyond exercise. Can application of manual therapy before exercise benefit a low functioning person with limb loss? A case study.

BACKGROUND: Most people with lower-limb loss (PLL) have musculoskeletal conditions and range-of-motion and muscle performance impairments. Such impairments limit potential for functional movement but can be reduced with manual therapy. Manual therapy, however, is rarely used for PLL. This case demonstrated how integrating manual therapy, exercise, and functional training led to lasting benefits for one low functioning PLL. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 54-year-old woman more than 1 year after transtibial amputation due to peripheral artery disease presented with multiple comorbidities and yellow flags. Her function remained limited to the Medicare K-1 household walking level with slow gait speed <0.25 m/s. Treatment included four weekly sessions each beginning with manual therapy, followed by exercise and functional training. OUTCOMES: After 1 month, performance-based strength, balance, walking speed, and physical activity increased. She advanced to the K-2 limited community walking level and maintained her functional level without further treatment after 3 months. DISCUSSION: Improvements maintained without treatment expanded upon research that lacked follow-up and excluded K-1 level walkers. Marked improvement after only four sessions was noteworthy since exercise protocols require ≥4 sessions. CONCLUSION: Manual therapy followed by exercise and functional training may optimize movement potential and contribute to improving strength, balance, gait, and physical activity among PLL.

What do patients referred to physical therapy for a musculoskeletal condition expect? A qualitative assessment.

BACKGROUND: Patient expectations related to physical therapy outcomes are commonly collected through surveys and close-ended questionnaires. These methods may not optimally capture patients' expectations for physical therapy, especially in the patients' own words. Louis Gifford identified four questions attempting to guide clinicians' understanding of patients' expectations for physical therapy. However, a qualitative assessment mapping the expectations that patients have prior to starting physical therapy appears to be undocumented. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine patient expectations prior to beginning physical therapy for individuals with musculoskeletal conditions. DESIGN: Qualitative analysis with structured interviews and open-ended participant responses. METHODS: Twenty-five people (18 female, 7 male; mean age: 47.04 years) were interviewed prior to their initial physical therapy evaluation using a pragmatic approach rooted in phenomenology. Data were transcribed, coded, and thematized using qualitative data analysis software. RESULTS: Outcome, education, exercise, evaluation, and cause of pain were key themes expressed by participants. Participants appear to want to better understand their symptoms, how they can improve symptoms, what the clinician will do, and how long they will attend physical therapy. Many participants were not certain where physical therapy fit within their overall healthcare plan, and perceptions of manual therapy were vague. CONCLUSIONS: These identified themes highlight what patients may expect from a physical therapy experience and clinicians should work to identify and satisfy each patient's individual expectations to optimize outcomes.

Diagnóstico situacional do programa academia da saúde no estado de Mato Grosso do Sul: relatório técnico 2022 / Situational diagnosis of the health academy program in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul: technical report 2022

O Programa Academia na Saúde (PAS) é considerado como um programa estratégico para a execução das Política Nacional de Promoção da Saúde (PNPS) e da Política Nacional de Atenção Básica (PNAB), e o programa é apontado como uma das ações de prevenção e controle que integram o Plano de Ações Estratégicas para o Enfrentamento das Doenças Crônicas Não Transmissíveis (DCNT).

Cost-Effectiveness of Chuna Manual Therapy and Usual Care, Compared with Usual Care Only for People with Neck Pain following Traffic Accidents: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

This is the first cost-effectiveness analysis of Chuna manual therapy (CMT) plus usual Korean traditional medicine for traffic accident victims using a randomized controlled trial. A total of 132 participants were equally allocated to the intervention group receiving 6-11 sessions of CMT plus usual Korean traditional medicine care for three weeks or usual care including acupuncture, cupping, herbal medicine, moxibustion, and traditional physiotherapy at three hospitals. At 12 weeks, from a healthcare perspective, the intervention group had significantly higher costs (mean (SD), $778 (435) vs. $618 (318); difference, $160; 95% CI, $15 to $289; p = 0.005). From a societal perspective, total costs were insignificantly lower in the intervention group (mean (SD), $1077 (1081) vs. $1146 (1485); difference, $-69; 95% CI, $-568 to $377; p = 0.761). The intervention group dominated, with significantly higher QALYs gained at lower overall cost with a 72% chance of being cost-effective. From a societal perspective, the intervention was cost-saving for individuals who had neck pain after car accidents, although it was not cost-effective from the healthcare perspective ($40,038 per QALY gained). Findings support use of CMT as an integrated care treatment for whiplash from a societal perspective. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to determine cost-effectiveness in other cultural contexts.

Are manual therapy or booster sessions worthwhile in addition to exercise therapy for knee osteoarthritis: Economic evaluation and 2-year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Exercise therapy is known to be an effective intervention for patients with osteoarthritis, however the evidence is limited as to whether adding manual therapy or booster sessions are cost-effective strategies to extend the duration of benefits. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the cost-effectiveness, at 2-year follow-up, of adding manual therapy and/or booster sessions to exercise therapy. DESIGN: 2-by-2 factorial randomized controlled trial. METHODS: Participants with knee osteoarthritis were randomly allocated (1:1:1:1) to: exercise therapy delivered in consecutive sessions within 9 weeks (control group), exercise therapy distributed over 1 year using booster sessions, exercise therapy plus manual therapy delivered within 9 weeks, and exercise therapy plus manual therapy with booster sessions. The primary outcome was incremental cost-effectiveness from health system and societal perspectives interpreted as incremental net monetary benefit (INMB). RESULTS: Of 75 participants, 66 (88 %) were retained at 1-year and 40 (53 %) at 2-year follow-up. All three interventions were cost-effective from both the health system and societal perspectives (INMBs, at 0.5 × GDP/capita willingness to pay (WTP) threshold: $3278 (95%CI -3244 to 9800) and $3904 (95%CI -2823 to 10,632) respectively for booster sessions; $2941 (95%CI -3686 to 9568) and $2618 (95%CI -4005 to 9241) for manual therapy; $270 (95%CI -6139 to 6679) and $404 (95%CI -6097 to 6905) for manual therapy with booster sessions). CONCLUSION: Manual therapy or booster sessions in addition to exercise therapy are cost-effective at 2-year follow-up. The evidence did not support combining both booster sessions and manual therapy in addition to exercise therapy.

Assessment of a taping method combined with manual therapy as a treatment of non-specific chronic low back pain - a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Chronic low back pain is the most frequent medical problem and the condition with the most years lived with disability in Western countries. The objective of this study was to assess a new treatment, Medi-Taping, which aims at reducing complaints by treating pelvic obliquity with a combination of manual treatment of trigger points and kinesio taping in a pragmatic RCT with pilot character. METHODS: One hundred ten patients were randomized at two study centers either to Medi-Taping or to a standard treatment consisting of patient education and physiotherapy as control. Treatment duration was 3 weeks. Measures were taken at baseline, end of treatment and at follow-up after 2 months. Main outcome criteria were low back pain measured with VAS, the Chronic Pain Grade Scale (CPGS) and the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire (ODQ). RESULTS: Patients of both groups benefited from the treatment by medium to large effect sizes. All effects were pointing towards the intended direction. While Medi-Taping showed slightly better improvement rates, there were no significant differences for the primary endpoints between groups at the end of treatment (VAS: mean difference in change 0.38, 95-CI [- 0.45; 1.21] p = 0.10; ODQ 2.35 [- 0.77; 5.48] p = 0.14; CPGS - 0.19 [- 0.46; 0.08] p = 0.64) and at follow-up. Health-related quality of life was significantly higher (p = .004) in patients receiving Medi-Taping compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: Medi-Taping, a purported way of correcting pelvic obliquity and chronic tension resulting from it, is a treatment modality similar in effectiveness to complex physiotherapy and patient education. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was registered retrospectively on July 24th, 2019 as Number DRKS00017051 in the German Register of Clinical Trials (Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien). URL of trial registry record: https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00017051 .

Physiotherapeutic assessment and management of chronic pelvic pain syndrome: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic pelvic pain syndrome is difficult for the diagnosis and therapy and that means the patient attending the physician or physiotherapist may present various symptoms. There are no guidelines concern physiotherapy diagnosis and treatment of chronic pelvic pain syndrome. This study presents the physiotherapeutic assessment and management in men with pelvic pain symptoms. PATIENT CONCERNS: Forty-six-year-old man attended the physiotherapy consulting room due to symptoms of pain in the perineum, lower abdomen, urethra, and scrotum for a year. Earlier, the patient had consulted a urologist who made a diagnosis of cystitis and prescribed medications that did not get results. DIAGNOSIS: Ultrasound imaging and manual inspection (per rectum) of the pelvic floor was conducted by physiotherapist. Also, the abdominal and lower extremities muscles were assessed. Patient reported pain symptoms during examination of the musculus ischiocavernosus, puboanalis, pubococcygeus, iliococcygeus, coccygeus, and canalis pudentalis seu Alcocki. INTERVENTIONS: The patient was given physiotherapeutic interventions consisting in the manual therapy of the lumbopelvic hip complex and the manual therapy per rectum. OUTCOMES: During 10th session of the physiotherapeutic treatment, patient reported improvement in pain symptoms. A month later, patient reported total alleviation of the pain symptoms during control visit. CONCLUSION: Therapy of chronic pelvic pain syndrome is a process that involves application of different therapies and different approaches. Functional and structural assessment and also therapy conducted by physiotherapist is becoming an integral part of urology and represents 1 possible conservative treatment form.

Do the Number of Visits and the Cost of Musculoskeletal Care Improve Outcomes? More May Not Be Better.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between health care use and the magnitude of change in patient-reported outcomes in individuals who received treatment for subacromial pain syndrome. The secondary objective was to determine the value of care, as measured by change in pain and disability per dollar spent. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial that investigated the effects of nonsurgical care for subacromial pain syndrome. METHODS: Two groups of treatment responders were created, based on 1-year change in Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) score (high, 46.83 points; low, 8.21 points). Regression analysis was performed to determine the association between health care use and 1-year change in SPADI score. Baseline SPADI score was used as a covariate in the regression analysis. Value was measured by comparing health care visits and costs expended per SPADI 1-point change between responder groups. RESULTS: Ninety-eight patients were included; 38 were classified as high responders (mean 1-year SPADI change score, 46.83 points) and 60 were classified as low responders (1-year SPADI change score, 8.21 points). Neither unadjusted medical visits (5.89; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.35, 7.44 versus 6.30; 95% CI: 5.14, 7.46) nor medical costs ($1404.86; 95% CI: $1109.34, $1779.09 versus $1679.26; 95% CI: $1391.54, $2026.48) were significantly different between high and low responders, respectively. CONCLUSION: Neither the number of visits nor the financial cost of nonsurgical shoulder- related care was associated with improvement in shoulder pain and disability at 1 year. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2020;50(11):642-648. doi:10.2519/jospt.2020.9440.

Service utilisation trends in the manual therapy professions within the Australian private healthcare setting between 2008 and 2017.

BACKGROUND: Better understanding of the dynamics and temporal changes in manual therapy service utilisation may assist with healthcare planning and resource allocation. The objectives of this study were to quantify, describe, and compare service utilisation trends in the manual therapy professions within the Australian private healthcare setting between 2008 and 2017. METHODS: Data regarding the number of services, total cost, and benefits paid were extracted for each manual therapy profession (i.e. chiropractic, osteopathy, and physiotherapy) for the period 2008-2017 from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. The number of registered providers for each profession were obtained from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. Descriptive statistics were produced for two time periods (i.e. 2008-2012 and 2013-2017) for each manual therapy profession. Annual percentage change during each time period was estimated by fitting Poisson regression models. Test for the equality of regression coefficients was used to compare the trends in the two time periods within each profession, and to compare the trends across professions within a time period. RESULTS: A cumulative total of 198.6 million manual therapy services with a total cost of $12.8 billion was provided within the Australian private healthcare setting between 2008 and 2017. Although service utilisation and total cost increased throughout the ten-year period, the annual growth was significantly lower during 2013-2017 than 2008-2012. Whereas osteopathy and physiotherapy experienced significant annual growth in the number of services and total cost during 2013-2017, negative growth in the number of services was observed for chiropractic during the same period. The annual number of services per provider declined significantly for chiropractic and physiotherapy between 2013 and 2017. CONCLUSION: Service provision under private health insurance general treatment cover constitute a major source of revenue for manual therapy professions in Australia. Although manual therapy service utilisation increased throughout the ten-year period from 2008 to 2017, the annual growth declined. There were diverging trends across the three professions, including significantly greater decline in annual growth for chiropractic than for osteopathy and physiotherapy.

Is Myofascial Release Therapy Cost-Effective When Compared With Manual Therapy to Treat Workers' Mechanical Neck Pains?

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to do a cost-benefit analysis of myofascial release therapy (MRT) compared to manual therapy (MT) for treating occupational mechanical neck pain. METHODS: Variables regarding the outcomes of the intervention were intensity of neck pain, cervical disability, quality of life, craniovertebral angle, and ranges of cervical motion. Costs were assessed based on a social perspective using diary costs. Between-groups differences in average cost, cost-effectiveness, and cost-utility ratios were assessed using bootstrap parametric techniques. The economic cost-benefit evaluation was with regard to an experimental parallel group study design. There were 59 participants. RESULTS: Myofascial released therapy showed significant improvement over MT for cervical mobility (side bending, rotation, and craniovertebral angle). The total cost of MRT was approximately 20% less (-$519.81; 95% confidence interval, -$1193.67 to $100.31) than that of MT, although this was not statistically significant. Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility ratios showed that MRT could be associated with lower economic costs. CONCLUSION: With probabilities of 93.9% and 95.8%, MRT seems to be cost-effective for treating mechanical neck pain without the need to add any additional cost to obtain a better clinical benefit. Consequently, we believe it could be included in the clinical practice guidelines of different Spanish health care institutions.

The OPTIMIZE study: protocol of a pragmatic sequential multiple assessment randomized trial of nonpharmacologic treatment for chronic, nonspecific low back pain.

BACKGROUND: Low back pain is a prevalent condition that causes a substantial health burden. Despite intensive and expensive clinical efforts, its prevalence is growing. Nonpharmacologic treatments are effective at improving pain-related outcomes; however, treatment effect sizes are often modest. Physical therapy (PT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) have the most consistent evidence of effectiveness. Growing evidence also supports mindfulness-based approaches. Discussions with providers and patients highlight the importance of discussing and trying options to find the treatment that works for them and determining what to do when initial treatment is not successful. Herein, we present the protocol for a study that will evaluate evidence-based, protocol-driven treatments using PT, CBT, or mindfulness to examine comparative effectiveness and optimal sequencing for patients with chronic low back pain. METHODS: The Optimized Multidisciplinary Treatment Programs for Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain (OPTIMIZE) Study will be a multisite, comparative effectiveness trial using a sequential multiple assessment randomized trial design enrolling 945 individuals with chronic low back pain. The co-primary outcomes will be disability (measured using the Oswestry Disability Index) and pain intensity (measured using the Numerical Pain Rating Scale). After baseline assessment, participants will be randomly assigned to PT or CBT. At week 10, participants who have not experienced at least 50% improvement in disability will be randomized to cross-over phase-1 treatments (e.g., PT to CBT) or to Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE). Treatment will consist of 8 weekly sessions. Long-term outcome assessments will be performed at weeks 26 and 52. DISCUSSION: Results of this study may inform referring providers and patients about the most effective nonoperative treatment and/or sequence of nonoperative treatments to treat chronic low back pain. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was prospectively registered on March 1, 2019, with Clinicaltrials.gov under the registration number NCT03859713 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03859713).

An orthopedic manual physical therapy fellowship training's impact on professional development, involvement, personal lives, and income - A survey study.

Introduction: Little research exists investigating the personal and professional outcomes of postprofessional physical therapy (PT) training. Therefore, the purpose of the current descriptive, web-based survey study was to determine self-reported outcomes from a postprofessional PT fellowship program, including graduate professional, educational, and research involvement; perceptions of the impact of training on clinical and professional attributes; changes in employment and income; and barriers to training. Methods: Graduates of a part-time, hybrid-model, multisite orthopedic manual PT fellowship program were invited to complete the web-based survey. Descriptive data analyses were performed for all quantitative data, and responses to questions were analyzed and categorized into themes. Results: Of the 77 fellowship graduates, 75 (97%) completed the survey. Graduates were involved in teaching; 43% (32/75) filled lead instructor roles in PT education programs. Further, 75% (57/75) were involved in research. The mean (SD) and median (range) increase in annual gross income was $9560 ($17,545) and $2,500 ($0-$125,000), respectively. Perceived areas with the largest impact of training included clinical reasoning, patient-centered and evidence-based practice, and professionalism. Life balance and family commitments were frequent barriers during training. Discussion: Graduates noted substantial perceived professional, clinical, and financial benefits to fellowship training. Limitations included lack of a control group and surveying participants from a single program. Future research should determine the influence that program and participant-related factors have on personal and professional lives of graduates and on clinical outcomes. Level of Evidence: Descriptive survey, level 3.

Headache symptom modification: the relevance of appropriate manual therapy assessment and management of a patient with features of migraine and cervicogenic headache - a case report.

OBJECTIVES: People who suffer from headache frequently present with multiple headache forms and the precise diagnosis of the dominant headache form can be challenging. This case report describes a headache symptom modification approach in the diagnosis and management of a patient presenting with combined features of chronic migraine and cervicogenic headache (CGH). METHODS: A 28-year-old female presented with combined features of chronic migraine and CGH diagnosed according to guidelines published by the International Headache Society. Her main complaints were frequent and severe headache along with frequent neck pain and disability. Symptom modification based on the Mulligan Concept was utilized for assessment of musculoskeletal dysfunction associated with headache which identified upper cervical articular impairment. Impairments were also identified in craniocervical muscle control and endurance. Interventions comprised six sessions of Mulligan manual therapy to address cervical spine impairments, exercise for craniocervical control and endurance, as well as patient education. RESULTS: Headache frequency at 6 months follow up was reduced from 16 to 3 days per month and intensity from 72 to 23 on Visual Analogue Scale. Clinically relevant improvements were also found in headache duration, pressure pain thresholds, medication intake and Headache Activities of Daily Living Index post-treatment and continued up to 6 months follow-up without adverse events. DISCUSSION: This case report illustrates the use of a manual therapy symptom modification approach in the management of headache. Improvement in headache symptoms and disability suggests that the musculoskeletal impairments and headache symptoms were more a feature of CGH rather than migraine. The mechanisms underlying these changes in symptoms and impairments are discussed.

A biomechanical assessment of the acute hallux abduction manipulation intervention.

BACKGROUND: Naturally aligned toes, particularly hallux, have reported with gripping functions during locomotion, thus expanding the forefoot loading area. RESEARCH QUESTION: The purpose of this study was aimed to investigate the influence of hallux abduction manipulation on the foot plantar pressure distribution and inter-segment kinematic alterations. METHODS: Thirteen subjects participated in this toe manipulation study. A Footscan® pressure plate and Vicon motion capture system were utilized for the measurement of plantar pressure distribution and lower extremity and foot inter-segment kinematics during walking and running. Paired-sample t-test from statistical parametric mapping 1d was used to check the kinematic significance. RESULTS: Peak pressure in third metatarsal (M3) increased significantly during walking under manipulation. Contact area increased in second metatarsal (M2) with manipulation during running. Peak pressure and pressure-time integral illustrated significant increases in M3, and the maximum force and impulse in fourth metatarsal (M4) increased significantly. Arch height index increased while walking with toe manipulation. The foot progression angle in the frontal plane showed significant decrease in mid-swing phase during walking and significant increase in mid-stance phase during running. The hallux relative to forefoot angles presented higher axial rotation in the frontal plane. SIGNIFICANCE: Findings form this study showed centrally and laterally redistributed foot loadings and increased forefoot inter-segment flexibility with manipulation, which may be used as baseline to evaluate toe-manipulation interventions in foot disorders, specifically hallux valgus deformity.

Stratified exercise therapy compared with usual care by physical therapists in patients with knee osteoarthritis: A randomized controlled trial protocol (OCTOPuS study).

OBJECTIVES: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by its heterogeneity, with large differences in clinical characteristics between patients. Therefore, a stratified approach to exercise therapy, whereby patients are allocated to homogeneous subgroups and receive a stratified, subgroup-specific intervention, can be expected to optimize current clinical effects. Recently, we developed and pilot tested a model of stratified exercise therapy based on clinically relevant subgroups of knee OA patients that we previously identified. Based on the promising results, it is timely to evaluate the (cost-)effectiveness of stratified exercise therapy compared with usual, "nonstratified" exercise therapy. METHODS: A pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial including economic and process evaluation, comparing stratified exercise therapy with usual care by physical therapists (PTs) in primary care, in a total of 408 patients with clinically diagnosed knee OA. Eligible physical therapy practices are randomized in a 1:2 ratio to provide the experimental (in 204 patients) or control intervention (in 204 patients), respectively. The experimental intervention is a model of stratified exercise therapy consisting of (a) a stratification algorithm that allocates patients to a "high muscle strength subgroup," "low muscle strength subgroup," or "obesity subgroup" and (b) subgroup-specific, protocolized exercise therapy (with an additional dietary intervention from a dietician for the obesity subgroup only). The control intervention will be usual best practice by PTs (i.e., nonstratified exercise therapy). Our primary outcome measures are knee pain severity (Numeric Rating Scale) and physical functioning (Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score subscale daily living). Measurements will be performed at baseline, 3-month (primary endpoint), 6-month (questionnaires only), and 12-month follow-up, with an additional cost questionnaire at 9 months. Intention-to-treat, multilevel, regression analysis comparing stratified versus usual care will be performed. CONCLUSION: This study will demonstrate whether stratified care provided by primary care PTs is effective and cost-effective compared with usual best practice from PTs.

Is there a difference in response to manual cranial bone tissue assessment techniques between participants with cervical and/or temporomandibular complaints versus a control group?

AIM: Manual cranial bone tissue techniques (CBTT) are used by physiotherapists as a tool for assessment and treatment of complaints in the craniocervical, face, and head regions. The goal of this study was to determine whether CBTT were able to discriminate between subjects with cervical and/or temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and a healthy group. In addition, the inter-rater reliability when applying CBTT was also investigated. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted and included 60 participants. Six standardized passive techniques were applied and judged for resistance, compliance, and sensory answer. In order to evaluate the inter-rater reliability of these techniques a cohort of participants was measured twice (by two evaluators) prospectively. A logistic regression model and Receiver Operating Curve (ROC) analyses were used to determining the discriminative validity of these techniques. RESULTS: Logistic regression identified a significant difference for five techniques for resistance and/or compliance and/or the sensory answer between the groups. Based on the Area Under the Curve (AUC) analysis, the discriminative ability of the temporal rotation to distinguish between the groups was fair to good (for resistance AUC = 0.7775 and for compliance AUC = 0.8065). The highest agreement between the two assessors was for the resistance with occipital compression (73%) technique. CONCLUSION: This study highlights that some of the CBTT could be potentially useful in distinguishing subjects with cervical and/or TMD from healthy subjects. Inter-rater reliability was moderate. CBTT could be potentially integrated in the examination of participants with complaints in the craniofacial region.