[Reproducibility of range of lumbar motion using a modified-modified Shober's technique in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain]

Background and Objective: Lower back pain is one of the common discomforts of the occupational-musculoskeletal system, and the scope of motion measurement is important for assessing the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions. This study was carried out to evaluate the reproducibility of the modified-modified Shober's technique [MMST] in measuring the range of motion of lumbar in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain

Methods: In this descriptive-analytic study, the range of motion of lumbar [flexion and extension] of 15 patients with non-specific chronic low back pain was measured in three times with modified -modified Shober's technique by two physiotherapists. To achieve this, the correlation coefficient [ICC] was used. Two measurements with an interval of one hour and one week were run to evaluate the reproducibility within-days and between-day, respectively

Results: Flexion and extension were measured by the first assessor in within-day that showed a high reproducibility for flexion [ICC=0.88] and extension [ICC=0.71], findings also revealed an acceptable ICC for flexion [ICC=0.85] and extension [ICC=0.68] in between-days

The second assessor measurements of flexion and extension in whiten-day also presented high reproducibility for flexion [ICC=0.85] and extension [ICC=0.76]; moreover, in between-days evaluation, correlation was found for flexion [ICC=0.81] and for extension [ICC=0.71]

Conclusion: This study showed that the modified-modified Shober's technique is applicable for measuring the reproducibility of range of lumbar motion in patients with non-specific chronic lumbar pain

[Loneliness and Internet addiction in students]

Obsessive use of the internet is associated with isolation, depression, loneliness and anxiety which are called internet addiction. The aim of this was to determine the correlation between loneliness and internet addiction in Qom branch of Islamic Azad University students. In this descriptive-correlational study, 148 students of Qom Branch of Islamic Azad University were selected through random sampling. Date collection was carried out through "Loneliness Scale", Yang "Internet Addiction Test" and demographic variables questionnaire. Data was analyzed by SPSS/12. The sample consisted of 56.08% male and 20.94% married people. Results showed there was a significant correlation between loneliness and two subscales of relationship with family [P<0.001] and affective symptoms [P<0.001] with internet addiction. Also there was no significant correlation between factors such as age, gender and marital status with internet addiction. It is recommended to provide an appropriate and effective consultation times for the students, identify the causes of loneliness in them and providing appropriate solutions for the reduction, prevent secondary complications such as internet addiction