A Study of 60 Patients with Low Back Pain to Compare Outcomes Following Magnetotherapy, Ultrasound, Laser, and Electrotherapy with and without Lumbosacral Kinesiotherapy.

BACKGROUND This study of 60 patients with low back pain (LBP) aimed to compare outcomes following magnetotherapy, ultrasound therapy, laser therapy, and electrotherapy, with and without lumbosacral kinesiotherapy, and used the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) and the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire (OLBPDQ). This was a randomized actively controlled intervention trial of adding kinesiotherapy to a standard physiotherapy for LBP. MATERIAL AND METHODS The research included 60 participants with a diagnosis of chronic non-specific lumbar pain syndrome (CNSLPS) (mean±SD age 58.3±15.4 years, 37 women) LBP randomly assigned (1: 1) to 2 treatment groups. In Group 1, 30 patients were treated with magnetotherapy, ultrasound therapy, laser therapy, and electrotherapy. In Group 2, 30 patients received the same treatments as in Group 1, and also performed kinesiotherapy exercises affecting the lumbosacral spine and adjacent muscles. At baseline and at the end of the study, all participants completed the RMDQ and the OLBPDQ. RESULTS Both groups had significant improvement after therapy. Repeated-measures ANOVA indicated that at the end of treatment there was significantly greater progress and symptom reduction (P<0.001) in Group 2. Patients in Group 2 had a pain reduction of 52.5%, while Group 1 had 25.4% pain reduction (P=0.009). CONCLUSIONS For treatment of disability caused by CNSLPS, physical therapy combined with kinesiotherapy should be a treatment of choice.

A History of the Midwifery Profession in the Republic of Croatia.

INTRODUCTION: It can be said that midwifery is as old as humankind because there has always been someone who accompanied women in childbirth. The purpose of this article is to present the history of midwifery on the present-day territory of the Republic of Croatia, from prehistoric ages to the present. METHOD: Historical methodologies were used for the study. An analysis of available literature and archives was carried out. RESULTS: For many centuries, midwifery was in the hands of formally uneducated but skilled women. Midwives had professional autonomy until the 1960s when obstetricians took full control of maternal care, and midwives became their assistants. DISCUSSION: Although midwives in the Republic of Croatia are more educated today than at any time in history, in practice, they do not have professional autonomy in the field of work that they are entitled to under Directive 2005/36/EC.