Evaluation of the impact of non-slip socks on the motor recovery of elderly people in acute care hospitals: Protocol for a randomized, controlled trial study.

BACKGROUND: Older patients often arrive in acute care wards with inappropriate footwear. Hospitals may provide non-slip socks to improve the patients' safety. However, few studies have been conducted on the benefits of non-slip socks. A recent literature review found only two randomized controlled studies that evaluated non-slip socks, but the socks were not the primary focus of the studies. The aim of this study is therefore to specifically evaluate the benefits of non-slip socks on gait in hospitalized older people. METHODS: This open, randomized, controlled trial will include patients aged 75 years and over, hospitalized in an acute medical unit. Patients will be randomized to either remain barefoot or wear non-slip socks throughout their stay. The primary outcome is gait speed, assessed on Day 1 and Day 8. DISCUSSION: This randomized controlled trial should provide clinicians with a scientific rational for the recommendation, or not, of the use of non-slip socks for older patients in acute care hospitals. TRIAL REGISTRATION: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ on May 12, 2021 under the reference: NCT04882696 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04882696.

Effect of an intensive cervical traction protocol on mid-term disability and pain in patients with cervical radiculopathy: An exploratory, prospective, observational pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Cervical radiculopathy is a relatively common and disabling condition involving local pain in the neck region and pain that radiates into the upper limb. Recent data suggest that cervical traction may effectively reduce disability and pain, with a dose-response relationship. The main aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the mid-term effect of an intensive cervical traction protocol for patients with cervical radiculopathy on disability, and to compare the effects with those reported by non-intensive protocols in the literature. METHODS: We conducted a prospective open observational study of 36 patients referred by their general practitioner for symptoms suggestive of cervical radiculopathy. All patients underwent the same treatment: a 30-minute cervical traction protocol, twice a day, for five consecutive days. The main objective was the evaluation of disability at 3 months. We evaluated at baseline (D1), the end of the protocol (D5) and at mid-term (M3) disability, cervical pain, radiating pain, pain on motor imagery, presence of neuropathic pain and medication consumption. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients for whom the Neck Disability Index improved by more than the minimum clinically important difference of 7 points by M3. RESULTS: Thirty-six patients were included in this study. The Neck Disability Index improved by more than the minimum clinically important difference in 48.3% at M3. Mean Neck Disability Index (p < .001), mean cervical VAS (p < .001), mean radiating VAS (p < .001), and mean VAS for imagined lateral flexion and rotation (p < .002) improved significantly from D1 to D5 and from D1 to M3. Consumption of medication reduced at each time point. The proportion of patients with neuropathic pain reduced from 61.1% at D1 to 33.3% at D5 and 48.3% at M3. CONCLUSION: Disability reduced by more than the minimum clinically important difference in almost half of the participants following the intensive traction protocol. These results are encouraging and suggest that this complex condition can be treated with relatively simple methods.