Immediate Effects of Mobilization With Movement vs Sham Technique on Range of Motion, Strength, and Function in Patients With Shoulder Impingement Syndrome: Randomized Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the immediate effects of mobilization with movement (MWM) with sham technique on range of motion (ROM), muscle strength, and function in patients with shoulder impingement syndrome. METHODS: A randomized clinical study was performed. Participants (mean age ± standard deviation, 31 ± 8 years; 56% women) were divided into 2 groups: group 1 (n = 14), which received the MWM technique in the first 4 sessions and the sham technique in the last 4 sessions; and group 2 (n = 13), which was treated with the opposite order of treatment conditions described for group 1. Shoulder ROM, isometric peak force assessed with a handheld dynamometer, and function as determined through the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand and Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) questionnaires were collected at preintervention, interchange, and postintervention moments. RESULTS: Two-way analysis of variance revealed no significant group-by-time interaction for any outcome but did reveal a main time effect for shoulder external rotation (P = .04) and abduction (P = .01) ROM, Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (P < .01), SPADI Pain (P < .01), SPADI Function (P < .01), and SPADI Total (P < .01). Only abduction movement and SPADI Pain overcame the clinical relevance threshold. The isometric peak force tests revealed no effects. CONCLUSION: The MWM technique was no more effective than a sham intervention in improving shoulder ROM during external rotation and abduction, pain, and function in patients with shoulder impingement syndrome.

Pressure pain threshold is higher in hypertensive compared with normotensive older adults: A case-control study.

AIM: To establish whether there are differences in pain sensitivity between hypertensive and normotensive older adults. METHODS: A cross-sectional case control study was carried out. A total of 72 older adults, 36 normotensive and 36 hypertensive, participated in the study. The pressure pain threshold (PPT) was assessed on seven points bilaterally in both groups by means of pressure algometry. Two-factor analysis of variance (anova) - group and sex - was carried out, and the magnitude of the differences was calculated using Cohen's index. RESULTS: The PPT values were higher in the group of hypertensive older adults compared with the normotensive older adults; that difference was significant (P < 0.05) for the following points: right and left trochanters, left trapezium, left L3/L4 and left anterior tibialis muscle, with both trochanter and left L3/L4 PPT showing moderate magnitude of the differences. The correlations shown among the PPT were stronger in the group of hypertensive older adults. Thus, hypoalgesia was more generalized among the hypertensive older adults compared with the normotensive older adults. Sex did not influence that difference, although the magnitude of the difference was greater among men compared with women. CONCLUSIONS: Hypoalgesia, as assessed by means of PPT, showed a relationship with arterial hypertension in older adults. The influence of sex on hypoalgesia shown by hypertensive individuals is controversial. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 967-972.