Short-time effects of spa rehabilitation on pain, mood and quality of life among patients with degenerative or post-surgery musculoskeletal disorders.

Clinical trials have demonstrated traditional spa therapy effects in musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). This is the first observational study in Italy aimed at evaluating in real-life the short-time effects of spa rehabilitation on pain, mood and quality of life (QoL) among degenerative or post-surgery MSDs patients. Through the involvement of six Italian spa facilities, 160 patients were enrolled; data from 123 patients were finally analysed. Seventy-nine patients (64.3%) accessed the spa for degenerative MSDs, while 44 (35.8%) had a post-surgical condition. All the patients included in the study underwent 12 sessions of water-based exercise (joint exercises, muscle strengthening, gait training, proprioceptive and balance techniques) conducted in thermal or in warm water pools, six sessions per week, for a period of 2 weeks from March 2019 up to October 2019. A group of 45 patients (36.6%) also received traditional thermal therapies, including 12 mud therapy sessions and 12 thermal baths, six times each week, for 2 weeks. Evaluation before and after the treatment included the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), the Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) and the EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D). The analysis of the scores reported in the questionnaires after the treatment showed a significant improvement in all the scores evaluated. Comparison between patients that performed water-based exercise protocols alone (group A) and patients that in addition to water exercise performed traditional thermal interventions (group B) showed no statistically significant differences in NRSp, NRSa, NRSm, SF-12 PCS, SF-12 MCS and EQ-5D variations; only NRSa value reduction was lower in group B. Sulphate water was found to be associated with a lower reduction of all the scores considered, when compared to the other water types. Patients with degenerative or post-surgery MSDs showed favourable effects on pain, mood and QoL after water exercise training alone or in combination with traditional thermal therapy. Our research provides the first proof that spa rehabilitation can be in real-life conditions an appropriate alternative strategy for post-orthopaedic surgical outcomes recovery. In the future, these results will need to be further investigated.

Impending atypical femoral fractures associated with bisphosphonates: postoperative diagnosis after hip prosthesis. Clinical cases presentation.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Number of hip prosthesis implants in arthritis, number of patients treated with bisphosphonates to prevent fragility fractures and, together, number of atypical femoral fracture's cases are increasing. CASE SERIES: This article describes two cases of hip arthritis, treated with hip replacement, in patients using bisphosphonates for a long time; in both cases an incomplete atypical femoral fracture was misdiagnosed before the surgery. Authors describe the importance to carry out a complete osteometabolic and radiographic pre-operative examination of patients in treatment with bisphosphonates going to hip replacement, to check the possible presence of incomplete atypical femoral fracture and to optimize surgical and pharmacological treatment. CONCLUSIONS: In hip prosthesis surgery, prior diagnosis of incomplete atypical femoral fractures can indicate the choice of a different kind of prosthesis stem to optimize surgical results. This can also positively impact to rehabilitation in term of duration and daily activities recovery.

Adherence to a home physical exercise program in patients with osteoporotic vertebral fractures: A retrospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Adherence to treatment is one of the most common problems in patients suffering from chronic disease such as osteoporosis, and special commitment is required to patients, especially regarding rehabilitation. There is increasing evidence that physical interventions aimed at relieving pain and reducing physical impairments could play a crucial role in improving the quality of life and reducing the risk of fractures in patients with severe osteoporosis. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the compliance and determine the acceptability of a home-self-managed exercises program in patients with vertebral fractures, one of the most frequent and serious consequences of osteoporosis. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational study of patients undergoing a home exercise program, monitoring them with clinical scales, questionnaires, and routine visits. RESULTS: 62.86% of the patients were compliant with the treatment; the absence of supervision by health personnel was the primary cause of non-compliance, followed by the lack of time and the lack of motivation. Compliant patients showed a significant reduction in lumbar pain (p 0.011), an improvement in posture with a reduction of dorsal kyphosis (occipital-wall distance T0-T1, p-value = 0.02) and an improvement in QoL (p-value = 0.001) and physical performance at the 20 m walking test (p-value = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: A home exercise program is feasible and could improve signs and symptoms in patients with vertebral fractures due to OP.

Underdiagnosis of osteoporotic vertebral fractures in patients with fragility fractures: retrospective analysis of over 300 patients.

Osteoporosis (OP) is a silent disease unless a fracture occurs; it is a major health problem, mainly due to fragility fractures, that occur at vertebral and peripheral sites. Vertebral fractures (VF) are probably the most common fragility fractures, but they go often unrecognized. The main clinical symptoms of VF are acute and chronic back pain, spinal deformity, reduced mobility and impaired quality of life. They are frequently associated with other fragility fractures. We examined 478 patients at our outpatient clinic, who were referred for fragility fracture occurrence. The most common fragility fractures was hip fractures. However, after execution of spine X-rays in patients who had sustained hip fracture, we found that a large proportion of them had VF, which had not been reported in their medical history.

Efficacy of a specific rehabilitation protocol in postural control of a young woman with multiple fragility vertebral fractures: a case report.

The fragility vertebral fractures have a considerable impact on an individual's health-related quality of life due to pain, limitations in activity, social participation, altered mood and balance impairment. Physiotherapy interventions may have an important role in improving quality of life, balance and reducing the fracture risk in people with osteoporotic vertebral fractures. In literature there are only a few studies that examine exercise interventions in osteoporotic populations with vertebral fracture and few studies that examine the effects on balance with instrumental measurements. In this paper we present a case of a woman with fragility vertebral fractures and a related balance impairment and the effects of a specific rehabilitation program using both clinical evaluations that instrumental measurements.

Osteoporosis with vertebral fractures associated with pregnancy: two case reports.

Pregnancy and lactation-associated osteoporosis (PAO) is a rare condition characterized by the occurrence of fragility fractures, most commonly vertebral, in late pregnancy or the early postpartum period. The prevalence, etiology and pathogenesis of this osteoporosis are unknown, although there are several hypotheses attempting to explain the etiopathogenesis of pregnancy associated osteoporosis. In this paper we present two cases of young women who developed severe PAO with vertebral fractures: a 42-year-old woman with a family history of osteoporosis, and a 21-year-old woman affected with myasthenia gravis. The case 1 presented fragility fracture of D12, L2, and L3. She did not have any disease causing osteoporosis. However, she had a positive familial history for osteoporosis and during pregnancy (12th week) she had a detached placenta, so bed rest was prescribed for two months. The case 2 presented multiple vertebral fracture. She was affected by myasthenia gravis, which was diagnosed two years before pregnancy, and treated with corticosteroid. In summary, pregnancy and lactation-induced osteoporosis, although it is a rare disorder, should be kept in mind when pregnant women or women in postpartum period develop persistent back pain and it is important to monitor the patients with risk factors or secondary causes of osteoporosis.