Relationship between playing-related factors and occupational balance in professional violinists.

BACKGROUND: Playing performance of musicians may affect their occupational balance. The violin is one of the riskiest string instruments for the musculoskeletal health. OBJECTIVE: To show the effect of socio-demographics, playing posture, pain, and functionality on occupational balance in professional violinists in Istanbul. METHODS: Forty-five violinists aged 29.1±10.6 years were included. The Personal Information Form, the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory, the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale, the Disability of Arm, Shoulder and Hand - Sports/Musicians (DASH-SM), the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment, and the 11-item revised version of the Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ11 - T) were used. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between the variables and occupational balance. RESULTS: The only significant correlation was found between doing regular exercise and occupational balance (r = 0.539, p <  0.001) with those having an exercise habit reporting higher occupational balance scores. The mean pain score of the violinists increased from a pre-performing mean of 1.6±2.3 to a post-performance mean of 3.91±2.4. CONCLUSIONS: Musicians indicate that they practice physical exercise regularly. A strong methodological limitation of this study is that variables like exercise were evaluated with a self-reported survey which limited the analysis and so we hardly find any relationships between them. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the relationship between playing-related factors and occupational balance in violinists. There may be other factors affecting occupational balance in violinists and also in the other musicians. Similar studies are needed in other countries also using different assessments specific to musicians.

Coronaphobia and academic procrastination in health sciences students during the first 3-month pandemic lockdown.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the correlation between coronaphobia and academic procrastination among university students during the first 3-month coronavirus disease-2019 lockdown. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted from June to July 2020 at the Hamidiye Faculty of Health Sciences, the University of Health Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey, and comprised Health Sciences students of either gender across 10 departments. The coronavirus disease-2019 Phobia Scale and the Scale of Academic Procrastination Behaviour were used to gather data. The relationship of the scores was examined with respect to gender and academic level. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. RESULTS: Of the 743 subjects enrolled, 681(91.65%) completed the survey; 548(80.5%) females and 133(19.5%) males. The overall mean age was 20.91±1.94 years (range: 18-35 years). The largest group was that of first year students 229(33.6%). There was a significant correlation between coronaphobia and academic procrastination (p=0.001). Total coronaphobia (p=0.023) and psychological subscale scores (p=0.001) of women were significantly higher than men. Negative perceptions regarding instructors were higher in men than women (p=0.038). The academic year was not significantly associated with either coronaphobia (p=0.249) or procrastination (p=0.546). CONCLUSIONS: The coronavirus disease-2019 created a phobia and this caused academic procrastination in health sciences students, especially women.

Empathy levels in physiotherapy students: a four-year longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Empathy is a key value in health-related occupations such as physiotherapy. PURPOSE: This longitudinal study aimed to determine the empathy levels of students in a four-year bachelor of physiotherapy program. METHODS: A total of 120 physiotherapy students at a non-governmental university in Istanbul participated in the study between 2016 and 2019. The Turkish adaptation of the student version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy was used. Empathy scores were compared according to year of study and gender. RESULTS: Most participants were women (n = 101, 84.2%). Empathy scores differed by years of study (p < .001) being highest in the first year and lowest in the fourth year. There was no difference in empathy scores between women and men (p = .26). CONCLUSION: This is the first longitudinal study to contribute data on empathy levels in Turkish physiotherapy students. The decline in empathy seen in fourth-year physiotherapy students is associated more with the academic program and clinical practice than with any other factor. Further studies are warranted to explore why there are variations in empathy levels in physiotherapy students during their education. Ensuring students develop awareness and skills related to empathy during their undergraduate studies could result in a higher quality of care early in their professional practice.

Levels of empathy among undergraduate physiotherapy students: A cross-sectional study at two universities in Istanbul.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to determine differences of levels of empathy among undergraduates in each year of their four-year programs of physiotherapy. METHODS: During the 2014-2015 academic school year, 381 physiotherapy students were enlisted from two universities in Istanbul, one a foundation and the other a government university. The Turkish version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy was administered. Students were asked to indicate interest in particular physiotherapy specialties as well as their region of origin in Turkey. The Kruskal-Wallis analysis was used to determine differences among the four study years, and also to measure relationships between specialty interest, home-region, and empathy scores of the students. Empathy scores were also compared according to gender. RESULTS: The difference of empathy scores between the students of the two universities was borderline significant (p=0.057). Empathy scores in both universities increased to a significant degree after school entrance and decreased in the final year. Levels of empathy did not change according to gender, specialty interest, or home-region (p=0.722, 0.524, and 0.309, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This study points to the need for physiotherapy curricula that would enhance empathy and give students practice in exhibiting this valuable attribute. Additional studies are needed that would include larger study populations and track the same students year by year as to how and why their empathy levels change during their training.

Splinting is effective for night-only symptomatic carpal tunnel syndrome patients.

[Purpose] Carpal tunnel syndrome is the most common entrapment neuropathy of the median nerve. Splinting is one of the most used conservative treatment methods for carpal tunnel syndrome. The aim of this study was to show the effectiveness of splinting in carpal tunnel syndrome patients who were divided into two groups according to their level of symptoms. [Subjects and Methods] A total of 40 carpal tunnel syndrome patients were divided into 2 groups based on having symptoms only at night or during the day were included in this study. These two groups were compared at the end of a 3-months splinting therapy in terms of improvement of severity of symptoms, functional capacity, pain level, and electrophysiological findings. [Results] Pain levels of both groups were similar at baseline. After splinting, pain levels of night-only symptomatic patients were lower than those of sustained symptomatic ones. No differences were found in symptom severity, functional capacity, and the electrophysiological findings in either group after the splinting. [Conclusion] The results of this study show that splinting alone may be sufficient to decrease the pain for night-only symptomatic patients. Combined therapy methods may be needed for sustained symptomatic patients.

Factors affecting symptoms and functionality of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome: a retrospective study.

[Purpose] The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the associations between clinical, physical, and neurophysiological outcomes and self-reported symptoms and functions of patients after surgical carpal tunnel release. [Subjects and Methods] Among 261 patients who had undergone open surgical carpal tunnel release within the last three years, 83 (mean age 50.27 ± 11.13 years) participated in this study. Their socio-demographics and comorbidities were recorded. The intensity of pain, paresthesia, and fatigue symptoms in the hand were assessed by means of a Visual Analogue Scale, the Semmes-Weinstein Monofilaments test of light touch pressure sensation, and Jamar dynamometry for measurement of grip and pinch strengths. The Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire evaluated the severity of symptoms and hand functional status, and the variables were analyzed by multivariate linear regression. [Results] The severity of the symptoms and functional status of release surgery patients was associated with diabetes mellitus, migraine, night pain, paresthesia and fatigue symptoms, impaired light touch pressure, and lack of medical treatment. [Conclusion] Appropriate post-surgery treatment programs for these factors should be taken into consideration to help patients obtain optimal functionality and health in their daily lives.

Choosing the most efficacious scoring method for carpal tunnel syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the most efficacious hand-specific questionnaire to determine functionality in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. METHODS: The study included 89 patients who underwent open carpal tunnel release surgery within three years prior to the study. A visual analog scale was used to assess the intensity of pain and paresthesia symptoms. Each participant completed the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ), the Michigan Hand Outcome Questionnaire (MHQ), the quick form of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire, and the Duruoz Hand Index (DHI). The BCTQ, pain and paresthesia results were assumed as gold standards. Correlations between the MHQ, QuickDASH, and the DHI were analyzed. A correlation analysis between the variables was tested using Spearman's rho test or Pearson's test for variables. RESULTS: The QuickDASH was well correlated with pain, paresthesia and the BCTQ (p<0.001). The questionnaires complied with each other. CONCLUSION: In addition to its complicated scoring, the MHQ contained detailed subparameters with similar questions and takes a long time to complete. Further studies may confirm the effective usage of the DHI. The easier QuickDASH questionnaire appears to be more practical for carpal tunnel release patients.

Pain, physical performance and balance in the elderly at hospital.

This study was aimed to determine the pain, physical performance and balance conditions of the elderly hospitalized in university hospital geriatric wards. The reasons for hospitalization and co-morbid diseases were recorded. Severity of pain was assessed on a visual analogue scale. Activity independence ability was tested by physical performance test (PPT). Tinetti balance and gait evaluation scale (GES) were used to assess balance. Fifty patients (54%) had reported any kind of pain. Mean score for PPT was 13.32 ± 6.56 and for Tinetti test was 9.76 ± 3.8. The correlation between pain, physical performance and balance for 93 patients, 65 years and above was analyzed and not found statistically significant. We believe that pain can affect physical performance and balance. Therefore, it should be carefully evaluated in every elderly patient. Further studies are necessary to investigate the relationship between pain, physical performance and balance of elderly hospitalized patients.