The ESCAPE trial for older people with chronic low back pain: Protocol of a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Low-back pain is one of the most common health conditions worldwide. It is defined as pain below the costal margin and above the inferior gluteal folds. Current guidelines recommend management of chronic health (e.g., low back pain) conditions in older people at primary health care settings using active strategies (e.g., exercise). In non-specific low back pain, high quality evidence supports active strategies for general population. However, the management of non-specific low back pain in the older people has been overlooked and evidence is limited to a small number of low powered randomized controlled trials with high risk of bias. METHODS: This is a prospectively registered, open, two-arm randomised controlled trial comparing the group-based exercise and waiting list in pain intensity (11-item Pain Numerical Rating Scale) and disability (Roland Morris questionnaire) of older people (i.e., 60 years old or over) with chronic non-specific low back pain. One hundred and twenty patients will be recruited from Diamantina, Brazil. Follow-ups will be conducted in post-treatment (8 week) and 6- and 12-months post-randomisation. DISCUSSION: Our hypothesis is that group-based exercise will be better than waiting list in reducing pain intensity and disability in older people with chronic non-specific low back pain. IMPACT: The practice of individualized exercise has been studied for the management of chronic non-specific low back pain in older people. However, the group exercise, even showing high quality evidence for the improvement of several important outcomes in this population, has been ignored until now. Thus, the results of this study have the potential to indicate a viable and accessible strategy for managing chronic non-specific low back pain in the older people. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was prospectively registered at www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br (RBR-9j5pqs). Date-11/18/2020.

Effectiveness of cryotherapy on pain intensity, swelling, range of motion, function and recurrence in acute ankle sprain: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE: Investigate effectiveness of cryotherapy on pain intensity, swelling, range of motion, function and recurrence in acute ankle sprain. METHODS: Searches were conducted on six databases for randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating effectiveness of cryotherapy for pain intensity, swelling, range of motion, function and recurrence in acute ankle sprain. Selection of trials, data extraction and methodological quality assessment of included trials were conducted independently by two reviewers with discrepancies resolved by a third reviewer. Estimates were presented as mean differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The quality of the evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment (GRADE) approach. RESULTS: Two RCTs with high risk of bias were included. Both evaluated the additional effects of cryotherapy, comparing cryotherapy combined with other intervention versus other intervention stand-alone. Uncertain evidence shows that cryotherapy does not enhance effects of other intervention on swelling (MD = 6.0; 95%CI: 0.5 to 12.5), pain intensity (MD = -0.03; 95%CI: 0.34 to 0.28) and range of motion (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Current literature lacks evidence supporting the use of cryotherapy on management of acute ankle sprain. There is an urgent call for larger high-quality randomized controlled trials.

Association of Therapies With Reduced Pain and Improved Quality of Life in Patients With Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Importance: Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that results in a significant burden to individuals and society. Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of therapies for reducing pain and improving quality of life (QOL) in people with fibromyalgia. Data Sources: Searches were performed in the MEDLINE, Cochrane, Embase, AMED, PsycInfo, and PEDro databases without language or date restrictions on December 11, 2018, and updated on July 15, 2020. Study Selection: All published randomized or quasi-randomized clinical trials that investigated therapies for individuals with fibromyalgia were screened for inclusion. Data Extraction and Synthesis: Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed risk of bias using the 0 to 10 PEDro scale. Effect sizes for specific therapies were pooled using random-effects models. The quality of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment (GRADE) approach. Main Outcomes and Measures: Pain intensity measured by the visual analog scale, numerical rating scales, and other valid instruments and QOL measured by the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire. Results: A total of 224 trials including 29 962 participants were included. High-quality evidence was found in favor of cognitive behavioral therapy (weighted mean difference [WMD], -0.9; 95% CI, -1.4 to -0.3) for pain in the short term and was found in favor of central nervous system depressants (WMD, -1.2 [95% CI, -1.6 to -0.8]) and antidepressants (WMD, -0.5 [95% CI, -0.7 to -0.4]) for pain in the medium term. There was also high-quality evidence in favor of antidepressants (WMD, -6.8 [95% CI, -8.5 to -5.2]) for QOL in the short term and in favor of central nervous system depressants (WMD, -8.7 [95% CI, -11.3 to -6.0]) and antidepressants (WMD, -3.5 [95% CI, -4.5 to -2.5]) in the medium term. However, these associations were small and did not exceed the minimum clinically important change (2 points on an 11-point scale for pain and 14 points on a 101-point scale for QOL). Evidence for long-term outcomes of interventions was lacking. Conclusions and Relevance: This systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that most of the currently available therapies for the management of fibromyalgia are not supported by high-quality evidence. Some therapies may reduce pain and improve QOL in the short to medium term, although the effect size of the associations might not be clinically important to patients.

Does trunk and hip muscles strength predict performance during a core stability test?

BACKGROUND: A better understanding about the relationship between trunk and hip muscles strength and core stability may improve evaluation and interventions proposed to improve core stability. OBJECTIVES: To investigate if trunk and hip muscles strength predict pelvic posterior rotation during the bridge test with unilateral knee extension. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study. Sixty-one healthy individuals of both sexes (age, 28±6.4 years, weight, 66.5±10.9kg, height, 167±9.5cm) performed the bridge test with unilateral knee extension. The pelvic posterior rotation during the bridge test was obtained with two-dimensional video analysis. Isometric strength of the trunk extensors and rotators, and hip abductors, external and internal rotators and extensors were measured with a hand-held dynamometer. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to identify if the strength variables could explain the pelvic posterior rotation during the test. RESULTS: Muscle strength predicted pelvic posterior rotation during the bridge test (r=0.54; p=0.003). Strength of the trunk rotators (p=0.045) and hip internal rotators (p=0.015) predicted reduced magnitude of pelvic posterior rotation during the bridge test, and strength of the hip extensors (p=0.003) predicted increased magnitude of pelvic posterior rotation. CONCLUSIONS: Trunk rotators and hip internal rotators and extensors strength predict 29% of the performance during the bridge test with unilateral knee extension. The strength of these muscles should be evaluated in individuals with increased pelvic posterior rotation during the bridge test with unilateral knee extension.