Effects of kinesio taping with and without active release technique in carpal tunnel syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Kinesio taping is used as a conservative treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome and the active release technique is also effective. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of kinesio taping with and without the active release technique on pain, grip strength, functional disability and range of motion in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. METHODS: It was a randomized controlled trial. Thirty-two patients with carpal tunnel syndrome were randomly allocated to two groups: Group A received kinesio taping with the active release technique for 4 weeks (3 days/week); Group B received kinesio taping alone for 4 weeks (5 days/week). Outcome measures were the Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire, a numeric pain rating scale, goniometry and hand-held dynamometry. SPSS software, version 25, was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Normal distribution was assessed on the Shapiro-Wilk test and parametric tests were applied. Independent t-test results showed that patients who received kinesio taping with the active release technique showed significantly greater improvement (p < 0.05) in pain, functional status and range of motion than the group that received kinesio taping alone. Within-group analysis (paired t-test) showed that both groups significantly improved (p < 0.05) in all outcome measures. CONCLUSION: Kinesio taping with the active release technique procured significantly greater improvement in pain, range of motion and functional disability than kinesio taping alone. CLINICALTRIALS: gov registration number: 789.

Effects of elongation longitudinaux avec decoaption osteo-articulaire and post-facilitation stretching technique on pain and functional disability in mobile users with text neck syndrome during COVID-19 pandemic: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Adolescent smartphone users have developed a variety of musculoskeletal conditions due to their use of smartphones. ELDOA (Elongation longitudinaux avec decoaption osteo-articulaire) is based on maximizing facial and spinal stretching by assuming specific posture for 1 minute and post facilitation stretching is also a type of muscle energy technique that is used for chronically shortened or tight muscles. This aimed to compare the effects of post-facilitation stretching technique and ELDOA on neck pain and functional disability in mobile users experiencing Text neck syndrome during COVID-19. METHODS: This single-blinded randomized control trial with a parallel group design was conducted at the Department of Physiotherapy Safi Hospital (Faisalabad, Pakistan) from September 2021 to April 2022. Forty smartphone users between the ages of 18 and 35 who had a Neck Disability Index score of >10 due to neck pain without unilateral arm symptoms participated in the study. Of the 40 participants, twenty were randomly assigned to the ELDOA group and twenty were assigned to the post facilitation stretching group, and each group received 3 weekly sessions of treatment for 6 weeks. The Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), Neck Disability Index (NDI), and Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS) were used to measure pain intensity, functional disability, and smartphone addiction at baseline and after 18 sessions of treatment. SPSS version 22 was used to enter and analyze the data. To find comparisons between groups an independent sample t test was used, and a paired sample t test was used to find the difference within each group. RESULTS: Post-treatment values showed statistically significant difference between groups. ELDOA group showed greater improvement in pain (P < .03) with 95% CI [-1.33, -0.068] and functional disability (P < .05) with 95% CI [-4.44, 0.143] at 6th week. There was no statistically significant difference (P = .35) with 95% CI [-28.6, 10.4] between the two groups regarding smartphone addiction. The NPRS, NDI, SAS scores were significantly different within each group with P < .05. CONCLUSION: The study concluded that ELDOA method and post-facilitation stretching both were effective in treating neck pain and functional disability. However, ELDOA method was superior to post-facilitation stretching effects on neck pain and functional disability among patients with text neck syndrome.

Effectiveness of sustained natural apophyseal glides in females with cervicogenic headache: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Cervicogenic headache (CGH) is a common condition that results in significant disability. To treat this dysfunction, Mulligan described sustained natural apophyseal glides (SNAGs) as a manual therapy approach. However, only inconclusive short-term evidence exists for treating CGH with SNAGs. OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to investigate the effect of SNAGs in the treatment of CGH. METHODS: Fourty female patients ranging from 20 to 40 years with CGH were randomly assigned to two groups: 20 in a treatment group and 20 in a control group. SNAGs were applied to the treatment group while the control group received placebo treatment. Both groups received their respective treatment for 20 minutes, alternately three times per week, for a total of 12 times in four weeks. The outcome measures were the Neck Disability Index (NDI) and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Participants were assessed at baseline and at the end of each week. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Independent t-testing was used to reveal changes between groups. One-way ANOVA was used to determine changes within groups. The level of significance was P< 0.05. RESULTS: Twenty participants (100%) in the treatment group and 17 (85%) in the control group had a history of headache aggravation with active movements or passive head positioning. There was no significant difference at baseline (p> 0.05), indicating that both groups were homogeneous at the time of recruitment. The p value (p< 0.05) showed a significant difference in pain and level of disability at three and four weeks (p< 0.05) in patients treated with SNAGs. However, the cervical range of motion (ROM) showed a statistically significant improvement in flexion and extension in the treatment group (p< 0.05) while there was no significant improvement in side flexion and rotation ROM in both groups (p> 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study found that SNAGs were effective in reducing pain and neck disability and improved ROM in females with CGH.

Comparison of subtalar mobilisation with conventional physiotherapy treatment for the management of plantar fasciitis.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the effectiveness of subtalar mobilisation technique on pain and functional disability compared to conventional physiotherapy in patients with plantar fasciitis. METHODS: The randomised controlled trial was conducted at the Prime Care Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan, from January to August 2017, and comprised patients of either gender aged 30-60 years presenting with complaints of heel and foot pain, a limited range of motion at the ankle joint due to heel pain, and pain in the morning when taking the first steps or after prolonged rest. The participants were randomly assigned to intervention group A, that received subtalar mobilisation, and control group B treated with therapeutic ultrasound. The groups received two treatment sessions per week over 3 weeks. Patients in both the groups received stretching and rigid tapping as standard treatment. Visual analogue scale and the foot and ankle disability inventory were used to measure pain and functional disability. Data was analysed using SPSS 20. RESULTS: Of the 60 patients enrolled, 8(13.3%) were lost to follow-up, while 52(86.6%) completed the study. Of the 52 subjects, there were 25(48%) in group A with a mean age of 32.40±8.02 years, while in group B there were 27(52%) subjects with a mean age of 32.59±7.00 years. Group A had 11(44%) males and 14(56%) females, while group B had 16(59.3%) males and 11(40.7%) females. Mean body mass index for group A was 25.35±3.8 compared to 25.67±3.25 for group B. There were significant differences in terms of pain between the two groups (p<0.05). Group A showed more reduction in functional disability than group B (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Subtalar mobilisation with movement was found to be effective in reducing pain and functional disability than conventional treatment in patients with plantar fasciitis. RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL NO: 20200221046567N2 dated April 18, 2020. URL:https://www.irct.ir/trial/46988.with the World Health Organisation (WHO)-recognised Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials.

Parent's perception of constraint induced movement therapy in cerebral palsy management in rehabilitation centers of Lahore.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the perceptions of parents about constraint-induced movement therapy to treat their children with cerebral palsy. METHODS: The qualitative study was conducted in three rehabilitation centres situated in Lahore, Pakistan, from January to July 2014, and comprised parents with enough experience of constraint-induced movement therapy. Therapy session was given to children with hemiplegic spastic cerebral palsy for 4 5 hours per day for at least a month. The interview was recorded and then transcribed verbatim. RESULTS: There were 5 sets of parents whose children were aged 4-12 years. Five main themes emerged from the interviews and they were: child behaviour towards the therapy is variable; increase in cognitive level of the child; group therapy is more beneficial than individual therapy; after therapy the children developed a habit to use the affected hand in their activities; and other than change in the physical condition, parents also observed change in the social behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: Constraint-induced movement therapy seemed to offer a promising opportunity to tackle and promote both social and physical outcomes in cerebral palsy children.