Isokinetic evaluation of the trunk muscle strength in housewives with fibromyalgia: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: It is known that physical activity and muscular performance are reduced in fibromyalgia (FM) syndrome. This study aims to compare the performance of trunk muscles in women with FM and healthy controls and evaluate the correlation between trunk muscle strength and FM severity. METHODS: Forty-six patients with FM and 42 age- and body mass index-matched healthy housewives without FM were included in the FM and control groups, respectively. The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) was used for the assessment of FM severity. The pain intensity was evaluated using the visual analogical scale (VAS). An isokinetic dynamometer was used to measure the isokinetic trunk muscle strength. The peak torque (PT) values were recorded. The psychological status of the patients was evaluated using the Beck Depression Inventory. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in terms of age, BMI, and BDI scores in two groups (p > 0.05, for all). The isokinetic trunk extensor PT values were significantly lower in the FM group (p = 0.002 for 60°/s, and p < 0.001 for 90°/s and 120°/s) than control group. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between FIQ score and isokinetic extensor muscle parameters. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that trunk extensor muscles were significantly weaker in FM patients. Trunk extensor muscle strength decreased as FM severity increased in FM patients.

Isokinetic evaluation of the trunk muscle strength in housewives with fibromyalgia: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background: It is known that physical activity and muscular performance are reduced in fibromyalgia (FM) syndrome. This study aims to compare the performance of trunk muscles in women with FM and healthy controls and evaluate the correlation between trunk muscle strength and FM severity. Methods: Forty-six patients with FM and 42 age- and body mass index-matched healthy housewives without FM were included in the FM and control groups, respectively. The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) was used for the assessment of FM severity. The pain intensity was evaluated using the visual analogical scale (VAS). An isokinetic dynamometer was used to measure the isokinetic trunk muscle strength. The peak torque (PT) values were recorded. The psychological status of the patients was evaluated using the Beck Depression Inventory. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in terms of age, BMI, and BDI scores in two groups (p > 0.05, for all). The isokinetic trunk extensor PT values were significantly lower in the FM group (p = 0.002 for 60°/s, and p < 0.001 for 90°/s and 120°/s) than control group. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between FIQ score and isokinetic extensor muscle parameters. Conclusion: The results indicate that trunk extensor muscles were significantly weaker in FM patients. Trunk extensor muscle strength decreased as FM severity increased in FM patients.(AU)

The Role of Surgical Closure Position in Total Knee Arthroplasty: Flexion versus Extension-A Randomized Prospective Study.

We aimed to investigate the effect of the knee position during the surgical closure on isokinetic muscle strength, clinical score, and range of motion in total knee arthroplasty. Seventy-five eligible patients were enrolled in the study and randomly divided into two groups; wound closure was performed with the knee flexed at 90° in group 1 and knee extended in group 2. All the surgeries were performed by the same surgeon and by the same prosthesis type. All the patients received the same rehabilitation program postoperatively. The primary outcomes were the knee flexion degrees and the American Knee Society Score values at preoperative and postoperative 6 weeks, 3, and 6 months. The secondary outcome was the isokinetic muscle strength measurements of both knees before the surgery and after 6 months. There were no significant differences in the American Knee Society Scores and knee flexion degrees between the flexion and extension groups. However, a significant decrease was found in the extensor muscle strength in the extension group after 6 months of the surgery. The findings of our study are that the closing of the knee in flexion or extension does not affect the postoperative knee flexion degrees and scores in total knee arthroplasty. However, quadriceps strength recovers early if the knee closure is performed in flexion position.

Comorbidity of fibromyalgia and cervical myofascial pain syndrome.

The aims of this study are to determine the frequency of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) in patients with chronic cervical myofascial pain (CMP) and to investigate the FMS characteristics in CMP patients. Ninty-three patients with CMP and 30 age-matched healthy women were included in this study. Main outcome measures included visual analog scale (VAS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and pain pressure thresholds. CMP patients were evaluated for the existence of FMS. The severity of FMS was assessed with total myalgic score (TMS) and control point score (CPS). Most common clinical characteristics of FMS were noted. Of the 93 CMP subjects, 22 (23.6%) patients fulfilled the classification criteria for FMS. Number of tender points were higher (p=0.0), while TMS (p=0.0) and CPS (p=0.0) values were lower in comorbid CMP and FMS patients than regional CMP group. There were statistically significant differences between regional CMP patients and comorbid CMP and FMS patients regarding presence of fatigue (p=0.0) and irritable bowel syndrome (p=0.022). There was no statistically significant difference between patient groups regarding VAS values (p>0.05). BDI values of the regional CMP were significantly lower than comorbid CMP and FMS patients (p=0.011). In conclusion, we found that nearly a quarter of CMP patients were comorbid with FMS, and psychological and comorbid symptoms were more prominent in comorbid patients. We thought that, these two syndromes might be overlapping conditions and as a peripheral pain generator or inducer of central sensitisation, MPS might lead to FMS or precipitate and worsen the FMS symptoms.