Workload, general perceived stress, body function, musculoskeletal pain, and their mutual relationships in nurses - a pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: Both physical and psychosocial risk factors contributing to musculoskeletal disorders occur in the professional nursing group, and previous literature suggested that their interaction may increase the risk of musculoskeletal pain among nurses. The aim of the study was to examine perceived workload and stress as well as physical findings and musculoskeletal complaints in nurses. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The participants consisted of 42 female nurses, age range 23-60 years. They marked on a pain drawing the site/sites that was/were painful at the moment of testing, its duration and intensity. Thereafter they were examined using the movement and respiration domains from the Global Physiotherapy Examination (GPE). Furthermore, a subjective workload measure was made using the paper version of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index and stress was assessed using the Perceived Stress Questionnaire. RESULTS: Almost the entire study group declared that pain experienced in at least 1 location was chronic, i.e., had lasted ≥1 year (97%). The most frequent locations of pain were low back (22.4%) and cervical/head (21.6%) regions. In the GPE, most scores indicated restricted and reduced movement, with the subdomain flexibility having the highest deviation from the predefined standard. Furthermore, the results indicated hampered respiration, especially visible in standing position. Out of all workload scores, the highest was obtained for temporal demand. Perceived stress level was found to be moderate and significantly associated to chronic chest/ thoracic pain. Interestingly, the compression of thorax test positively correlated with mental (r = 0.42, p < 0.05) and physical demand (r = 0.35, p < 0.05), whereas the elbow drop test and temporal demand correlated negatively (r = -0.37, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: To sum up, the majority of nurses participating in this study had long-lasting pain and limited flexibility of the body and hampered respiration, which both may enhance intensity of experienced musculoskeletal pain. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2024;37(3):257-70.

How do physiotherapists understand and interpret the "Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale"? A cognitive interview study.

BACKGROUND: The Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (PABS) for physiotherapists aims to differentiate between clinicians' biomedical and biopsychosocial treatment orientations regarding nonspecific low back pain (LBP). Objective: To study the content validity of the Norwegian PABS by following international guidelines: exploring its relevance, comprehensibility and comprehensiveness. Methods: Cognitive interviews were performed using the Three-Step Test Interview, consisting of think-aloud techniques, retrospective probing and in-depth interviews. Eleven Norwegian physiotherapists with a diversity of professional backgrounds participated. Results: The participants encountered little difficulty in completing the PABS. All items were deemed relevant and important but five items had ambiguous formulations which can easily be handled. The biomedical subscale appeared to be a comprehensive representation of biomedical treatment orientation. The biopsychosocial subscale was found to lack items concerning cognitive behavioral aspects of LBP management, such as patient education, therapeutic alliance, shared decision making and graded exposure. Conclusions: This study provides empirical evidence that the Norwegian version of the PABS-PT is relevant and comprehensible, provided some minor adjustments. The biopsychosocial subscale, however, lacks comprehensiveness, as it is not able to capture important aspects of contemporary biopsychosocial best practice care. Measurement of biopsychosocial treatment orientation may therefore be incomplete.

Norwegian Psychomotor Physiotherapy versus Cognitive Patient Education and active physiotherapy-A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Norwegian Psychomotor Physiotherapy (NPMP) has been an established treatment approach for more than 50 years, mostly in the Scandinavian countries, usually applied to patients with widespread and long-lasting musculoskeletal pain and/or psychosomatic disorders. Few studies have investigated the outcomes of NPMP, and no randomized clinical trials (RCT) with a comparing treatment group have systematically been tried out on individuals. METHODS: This is a pragmatic, single-blinded RCT where 128 participants with long-lasting widespread musculoskeletal pain and/or pain located to the neck and shoulders were block randomized to NPMP or Cognitive Patient Education combined with active individualized physiotherapy (COPE-PT). Intention-to-treat with linear mixed models were used to estimate the group differences in treatment effects. The outcomes at 3, 6, and 12 months follow-up were pain intensity, function, anxiety and depression, quality of life, sleep, fear of movement, and subjective health complaints. Risk profile (Örebro) was examined at 3 and 6 months. All participants underwent physical tests at baseline and 6 months. RESULTS: One-year data were available for 66.4% of the original participants. Calculated with intention-to-treat analysis, at 3 months statistically significant differences were found in favor of COPE-PT for pain, anxiety and depression, quality of life-physical dimension, risk profile and fear of movement. At 6 months, statistically significant differences in favor of COPE-PT were found for anxiety and depression, and sleep. At 12 months, the improvements were still statistically significant for anxiety, depression and sleep. Both groups improved, but no statistically significant differences were found between the groups on the physical tests at 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: COPE-PT, which is targeted towards pain-coping and increasing activity, contribute to more improvements than NPMP.

Effect of information and exercise programmes after lumbar disc surgery: A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare two physiotherapy interventions following lumber disc surgery regarding effect on pain, functioning and fear of movement. METHODS: This study is a prospective randomized controlled study. When admitted to hospital for first time lumbar disc surgery, the participants were randomized to one of two post-operative intervention groups: one group received information only and the other exercise in combination with information. Outcomes were collected at baseline, 6-8 weeks and 12-months post-surgery. The primary outcome was to record changes in back/hip pain and leg pain. Secondary outcomes were evaluation of changes in function, fear-avoidance beliefs and kinesiophobia. RESULTS: Seventy patients completed the study and were included in the analysis, of which 37 were randomized to the group receiving information only and the remaining 33 receiving both exercise and information. For primary outcomes, at 12 months postoperatively, the group receiving both exercise and information had significantly lower leg pain compared with those receiving only information (p < .033). For secondary outcomes, at 12 months postoperatively, a significant difference (p < .027) was detected for function, which favoured those that received both exercise and information. There was no significant difference in the results for the other secondary outcomes. Both groups showed clinically important changes in relation to pain and function from baseline to 12 months. The effect of treatment showed a statistically significant difference in favour of exercise and information, but the difference was not clinically relevant. CONCLUSION: Exercise in combination with information reduced leg pain and improved function, which was statistically more evident over a period of time. Postoperative physiotherapy after lumbar disc surgery could include exercises in addition to information, but perhaps not for all patients, as both groups improved, and the difference between the two groups was not clinically relevant.

Cognitive functional therapy in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain-a randomized controlled trial 3-year follow-up.

OBJECTIVES: This randomized controlled trial investigated the efficacy of cognitive functional therapy (CFT) compared with manual therapy and exercise (MT-EX) for people with non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP) at 3-year follow-up. METHODS: Hundred and twenty-one patients were randomized to CFT (n = 62) or MT-EX (n = 59). Three-year data were available for 30 (48.4%) participants in the CFT group, and 33 (55.9%) participants in the MT-EX group. The primary outcomes were disability (Oswestry disability Index [ODI]) and pain intensity (numerical rating scale) and secondary outcomes were anxiety/depression (Hopkins Symptoms Checklist) and pain-related fear (Fear-Avoidance Belief Questionnaire). A full intention to treat analysis was conducted using linear mixed models. RESULTS: Significantly greater reductions in disability were observed for the CFT group, with ODI scores at 3 years 6.6 points lower in the CFT than the MT-EX group (95%CI:-10.1 to -3.1, p < 0.001, standardized effect size = 0.70). There was no significant difference in pain intensity between the groups at 3 years (0.6 points 95%CI:-1.4-0.3, p = 0.195). Significantly greater reductions were also observed for the CFT group for Hopkins Symptoms Checklist and Fear-Avoidance Belief Questionnaire (Work). CONCLUSIONS: CFT is more effective at reducing disability, depression/anxiety and pain-related fear, but not pain, at 3-year follow-up than MT-EX. SIGNIFICANCE: Cognitive functional therapy (CFT) was more effective than manual therapy and exercise (MT-EX) in reducing disability at 3-year follow-up, in people with non-specific chronic low back pain. The sustained reduction in disability without concomitant reductions in pain intensity in the CFT group suggests a de-coupling of the pain-disability relationship. CFT resulted in long-lasting reductions in anxiety and depression, and pain-related fear regarding work compared to MT-EX. The findings support the long-term benefits of a individualized behaviourally orientated intervention that targets pain beliefs, functional restoration and lifestyle factors.

Discriminative Validity of the Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale for Physical Therapists.

BACKGROUND: The Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (PABS) for Physical Therapists aims to measure clinicians' biomedical and biopsychosocial treatment orientations regarding nonspecific low back pain. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess whether the PABS can differentiate between subgroups of physical therapists hypothesized to differ in treatment orientations. DESIGN: This study was a cross-sectional survey. METHODS: The PABS was completed by 662 Norwegian physical therapists with a diversity of professional backgrounds. Twenty-four a priori hypotheses on expected differences in PABS scores were formulated. Sufficient discriminative ability was defined as a minimum of 75% confirmed hypotheses. Hypotheses on differences in scores were tested for the biomedical and biopsychosocial subscales separately as well as for combinations of the 2 subscales, representing responders with high biomedical and low biopsychosocial PABS scores and vice versa. RESULTS: Of the 24 hypotheses, only 15 (62.5%) were confirmed. Between-group differences concerning the separate subscales were small, varying from -0.63 to 1.70 scale points, representing values up to 6.0% of the total subscale ranges. Between-group differences were larger when combined subscales were used, varying from 1.80 to 6.70 points, representing values up to 25.1% of the total subscale ranges. Despite little spread in scores, 24% of respondents demonstrated extreme attitudes. LIMITATIONS: The lack of convincing scientific evidence from previous research on differences in attitudes and beliefs between physical therapists was a limitation for the formulation of hypotheses. CONCLUSIONS: Discriminative validity of separate subscales of the PABS was not supported. Combining the 2 subscales into global treatment attitudes enabled better discrimination. Little spread in biomedical and biopsychosocial orientations explains why more than one-third of the hypotheses were not confirmed. Either Norwegian physical therapists are basically similar in their treatment orientation or the PABS is not able to detect any differences between them.

Predicting outcome in frozen shoulder (shoulder capsulitis) in presence of comorbidity as measured with subjective health complaints and neuroticism.

BACKGROUND: There is a substantive lack of knowledge about comorbidity in patients with frozen shoulder. The aim of this study was to investigate whether subjective health complaints and Neuroticism would predict treatment outcome in patients diagnosed with frozen shoulder as measured by the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) and change in SPADI. METHODS: A total of 105 patients with frozen shoulder were recruited for a randomised controlled trial, where 69 were in the intervention group and received intraarticular corticosteroid injections and 36 patients served as control group. The SPADI was used as the outcome measure after 8 weeks, and change in SPADI from baseline to 8 weeks as a measure of rate of recovery. To examine comorbidities, all participants completed the Subjective Health Complaints (SHC) questionnaire with its five subscales, and the Neuroticism (N) component of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised. Multiple regression analysis was performed with the baseline comorbidity variables that correlated significantly with SPADI after 8 weeks, and with change in SPADI from baseline to 8 weeks, controlling for the variables intervention, age, gender and duration of pain. RESULTS: In this study, patients with frozen shoulder had little comorbidity as measured with SHC and scored normally with respect to Neuroticism. Only the Pseudoneurology subscale in SHC correlated significantly with SPADI and had significant predictive power (p < 0.001) for the outcome at 8 weeks. The intervention group exhibited significant statistical predictive power (p < 0.001) for the treatment outcome as measured by a change in SPADI from baseline to 8 weeks. Being female also had some predictive significance for change in SPADI (p < 0.005). CONCLUSION: Psychometric parameters as measured by the Pseudoneurology subscale in SHC questionnaire did predict the treatment outcome in frozen shoulder as measured by SPADI at 8 weeks, but not by change in SPADI from baseline to 8 weeks. One may conclude that psychometric parameters may affect symptoms, but do not predict the rate of recovery in frozen shoulder. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT01570985 .

The Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale for Physiotherapists: Dimensionality and Internal Consistency of the Norwegian Version.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale for Physiotherapists (PABS-PT) is a self-administered instrument developed to assess the strength of two possible treatment orientations of physiotherapists towards the management of low back pain. The aim of this study was to translate the PABS-PT into Norwegian from the original 36-item Dutch version and to examine its dimensionality and internal consistency. METHODS: The Norwegian version was generated in a forward-backward translation procedure. To examine construct validity, a cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted. A convenience sample of 3849 physiotherapists was invited to fill out the Norwegian PABS-PT, together with demographic and professional data. Only therapists who had been involved in back pain management for the last 6 months were included. Principal factor and Cronbach's alpha analyses were performed to determine the factor structure and internal consistency, respectively. RESULTS: The PABS-PT was successfully translated into Norwegian. Responses from 921 therapists were obtained (response rate 24.8%), and of these, 647 could be included in the factor analysis. Analysis revealed two factors, labelled 'biomedical' and 'biopsychosocial' treatment orientation, which confirmed the structure of the original Dutch version. Thirty-six items were reduced to 19, with 13 items loading on factor I and six items on factor II, explaining 18.1% and 7.1%, respectively, of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha of the biomedical sub-scale was 0.79 and 0.57 for the bio-psychosocial sub-scale. CONCLUSION: The Norwegian version of the PABS-PT appears to be equivalent to the original Dutch version, showing a similar structure and internal consistency. The two factors accounted for low explained variance, which may be indicative for problematic construct validity. Psychometric properties and usefulness will be further examined. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Study protocol for Norwegian Psychomotor Physiotherapy versus Cognitive Patient Education in combination with active individualized physiotherapy in patients with long-lasting musculoskeletal pain - a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Norwegian Psychomotor Physiotherapy (NPMP) has been an established treatment approach for more than 50 years, although mostly in the Scandinavian countries, and is usually applied to patients with widespread and long-lasting musculoskeletal pain and/or psychosomatic disorders. Few studies have been investigating outcome of NPMP and no randomized clinical trials (RCT) have been systematically tried out on individuals. METHODS/DESIGN: This is a study protocol for a pragmatic, single blinded RCT, which will take place in a city of Norway. The participants will be block randomized either to receive NPMP or Cognitive Patient Education in combination with active individualized physiotherapy (COPE-PT). The intervention will reflect usual care and will be conducted in physiotherapy clinics by five experienced physiotherapists in each of the two treatment approaches. DISCUSSION: The findings of the present study may give an important contribution to our knowledge of the outcome of NPMP, on patients with long-lasting widespread musculoskeletal pain and/or pain located to the neck and shoulder region. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study has been registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (June 9 th 2015, NCT02482792).

Adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder, treatment with corticosteroid, corticosteroid with distension or treatment-as-usual; a randomised controlled trial in primary care.

BACKGROUND: Optimal management for adhesive shoulder capsulitis (frozen shoulder) is currently unclear. We intended to explore whether treatment by intra-articular injections with corticosteroid and distension is more effective than treating with corticosteroids alone or treatment-as-usual in a primary care setting in Norway. METHODS: In this prospective randomised intention to treat parallel study, 106 patients were block randomised to three groups; 36 (analysed 35) receiving steroid injection and Lidocaine (IS), 34 receiving steroid and additional saline as distension (ISD) and 36 had treatment-as-usual (TAU). Intervention groups received four injections within 8 weeks, assessed on 1st visit, at the 4th and 8th week. Outcomes were Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI), Numerical pain rating scale (NPRS) and passive range of motion (PROM). Postal assessment was repeated after 1 year for SPADI. Patients in the IS and ISD groups were "blinded" for intervention received and the assessor was "blinded" to group allocation. RESULTS: At baseline there were no differences between groups in outcome measures. There were no statistical significant differences between the intervention groups in SPADI, NPRS and PROM at baseline, at short-term (4-and 8 weeks) or long-term (12 months). There were statistically significant differences (p < 0.01) in change scores at short-term for SPADI when comparing the IS and TAU groups (-20.8; CI-28.9 to -12.7), and the ISD and TAU groups (-21.7; CI-29.4 to -14.0), respectively for NPRS (-2.0; CI-2.8 to -1.1 and -2.2; CI-3.0 to -1.4), and for PROM, but not at long-term for SPADI (p > 0.05). Effect size (ES) at 8 weeks was large between both injection groups and TAU (ES 1.2). At 12 months ES was reduced to 0.3 and 0.4 respectively. Transitory side effects as flushing and after-pain were reported by 14 % in intervention groups. CONCLUSION: This intention to treat RCT in primary care indicates that four injections with corticosteroid with or without distension, given with increasing intervals during 8 weeks, were better than treatment-as-usual in treatment of adhesive shoulder capsulitis. However, in the long run no difference was found between any of the groups, indicating that natural healing takes place independent of treatment or not. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ identifier: NCT01570985.

Rasch analysis resulted in an improved Norwegian version of the Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (PABS).

BACKGROUND AND AIM: There is evidence that clinicians' pain attitudes and beliefs are associated with the pain beliefs and illness perceptions of their patients and furthermore influence their recommendations for activity and work to patients with back pain. The Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (PABS) is a questionnaire designed to differentiate between biomedical and biopsychosocial pain attitudes among health care providers regarding common low back pain. The original version had 36 items, and several shorter versions have been developed. Concern has been raised over the PABS' internal construct validity because of low internal consistency and low explained variance. The aim of this study was to examine and improve the scale's measurement properties and item performance. METHODS: A convenience sample of 667 Norwegian physiotherapists provided data for Rasch analysis. The biomedical and biopsychosocial subscales of the PABS were examined for unidimensionality, local response independency, invariance, response category function and targeting of persons and items. Reliability was measured with the person separation index (PSI). Items originally excluded by the developers of the scale because of skewness were re-introduced in a second analysis. RESULTS: Our analysis suggested that both subscales required removal of several psychometrically redundant and misfitting items to satisfy the requirements of the Rasch measurement model. Most biopsychosocial items needed revision of their scoring structure. Furthermore, we identified two items originally excluded because of skewness that improved the reliability of the subscales after re-introduction. The ultimate result was two strictly unidimensional subscales, each consisting of seven items, with invariant item ordering and free from any form of misfit. The unidimensionality implies that summation of items to valid total scores is justified. Transformation tables are provided to convert raw ordinal scores to unbiased interval-level scores. Both subscales were adequately targeted at the ability level of our physiotherapist population. Reliability of the biomedical subscale as measured with the PSI was 0.69. A low PSI of 0.64 for the biopsychosocial subscale indicated limitations with regard to its discriminative ability. CONCLUSIONS: Rasch analysis produced an improved Norwegian version of the PABS which represents true (fundamental) measurement of clinicians' biomedical and biopsychosocial treatment orientation. However, researchers should be aware of the low discriminative ability of the biopsychosocial subscale when analyzing differences and effect changes. IMPLICATIONS: The study presents a revised PABS that provides interval-level measurement of clinicians' pain beliefs. The revision allows for confident use of parametric statistical analysis. Further examination of discriminative validity is required.

Convergent validity of the Timed Up and Go Test and Ten-metre Timed Walk Test in pregnant women with pelvic girdle pain.

Pregnant women with pelvic girdle pain (PGP) often experience functional difficulties, in particular walking difficulties. Currently, however, there is a lack of validated performance-orientated outcome measures available for use in this population. The Timed Up and Go (TUG) test and Ten-metre Timed Walk Test (10 mTWT) are two short-distance walking tests that have demonstrated reliability in pregnant women with PGP, but as yet have no established validity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the convergent validity of the TUG and 10 mTWT by comparing performances on these two walking tests with scores achieved on the Active Straight Leg Raise (ASLR) test and the Pelvic Girdle Questionnaire (PGQ). Eighteen pregnant women with PGP aged 31.4 years (SD = 2.7) and 28.9 weeks pregnant (SD = 7.3) were included. Spearman rank correlation coefficient (rs) was used to determine convergent validity. Strong correlations were found between the TUG and ASLR (rs = 0.73, p = 0.001), and the 10 mTWT and ASLR (rs = -0.65, p = 0.003). Relationships between the TUG and PGQ were moderate (rs = 0.41 to 0.52) and between the 10 mTWT and PGQ low to moderate (rs = -0.25 to -0.56). The strong relationships between the walking tests and the ASLR may suggest these tests all assess the same construct. The weaker relationships found between the walking tests and the PGQ may be related to the self-report and multiple functional activities nature of the questionnaire. This study found both the TUG and 10 mTWT to be valid weight-bearing physical performance measures, although more research is warranted due to the small study sample.

Passive range of motion in patients with adhesive shoulder capsulitis, an intertester reliability study over eight weeks.

BACKGROUND: Measuring range of motion (ROM) in the shoulder joint is important for the diagnosis and monitoring of change over time. To what degree passive ROM can be trusted as a reliable outcome measure was examined as part of an on-going randomized controlled trial for patients with shoulder capsulitis. The aim of this study was to examine intertester reliability of passive ROM in the shoulder joint over a period of eight weeks in patients with adhesive capsulitis stage II. METHODS: Fifty patients with a clinical diagnosis of adhesive shoulder capsulitis were examined by two independent testers. A predefined protocol was used for measuring passive range of motion with an inclinometer, a plurimeter, in both affected and non-affected shoulders three times; at the start of the study and after 4 and 8 weeks. RESULTS: Very good to excellent intertester agreements were found for most parameters for the affected arm at all three test points. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC 2.1) values ranged from 0.76 to 0.98, i.e. from very reliable to excellent. The measurement error was in general small for the affected arm (5°-7°). ICCs were slightly lower for the non-affected arm at 8 weeks, but with acceptable measurement errors. CONCLUSIONS: Intertester reliability between two testers was very good at three visits over a time period of eight weeks using a plurimeter to measure passive range of motion in patients with adhesive shoulder capsulitis. This method can reliably determine passive range of motion in this patient population and be a reliable outcome measure.

Self-Reported and Tested Function in Health Care Workers with Musculoskeletal Disorders on Full, Partial or Not on Sick Leave.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to describe self-reported and physically tested function in health care workers with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and to examine how function was associated with work participation. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted. 250 health care workers attended an evaluation where self-reported and physical function were measured. Differences between groups (full sick leave, partial sick leave, not on sick leave/working) were analyzed for categorical data (Chi square exact test) and continuous variables (Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests). Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine which factors were associated with being on sick leave. RESULTS: Participants on full sick leave had statistically significant poorer function compared to those working and the group on partial sick leave. Logistic regression showed that a reduced level of the physical dimension of SF-12 and a high lift test were significantly related to full sick leave (OR 0.86, p < 0.001) (OR 0.79, p = 0.002). The physical dimension of SF-12 was the only variable that was associated to partial sick leave (OR 0.91, p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Health care workers on full sick leave due to MSDs have reduced function on self-reported and physically tested function, compared to those working despite MSDs, as well as when compared to those on partial sick leave. More knowledge about work ability in occupational sub-groups is needed.

Reliability of the Timed Up and Go test and Ten-Metre Timed Walk Test in Pregnant Women with Pelvic Girdle Pain.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There is a lack of functional objective tests available to measure functional status in women with pelvic girdle pain (PGP). The purpose of this study was to establish test-retest and intertester reliability of the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test and Ten-metre Timed Walk Test (10mTWT) in pregnant women with PGP. METHODS: A convenience sample of women was recruited over a 4-month period and tested on two occasions, 1 week apart to determine test-retest reliability. Intertester reliability was established between two assessors at the first testing session. Subjects were instructed to undertake the TUG and 10mTWT at maximum speed. One practise trial and two timed trials for each walking test was undertaken on Day 1 and one practise trial and one timed trial on Day 2. RESULTS: Seventeen women with PGP aged 31.1 years (SD [standard deviation] = 2.3) and 28.7 weeks pregnant (SD = 7.4) completed gait testing. Test-retest reliability using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was excellent for the TUG (0.88) and good for the 10mTWT (0.74). Intertester reliability was determined in the first 13 participants with excellent ICC values being found for both walking tests (TUG: 0.95; 10mTWT: 0.94). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that the TUG and 10mTWT undertaken at fast pace are reliable, objective functional tests in pregnant women with PGP. While both tests are suitable for use in the clinical and research settings, we would recommend the TUG given the findings of higher test-retest reliability and as this test requires less space and time to set up and score. Future studies in a larger sample size are warranted to confirm the results of this study.

Examination and treatment of patients with unilateral vestibular damage, with focus on the musculoskeletal system: a case series.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Persistent dizziness and balance problems have been reported in some patients with unilateral vestibular pathology. The purpose of this case series was to address the examination and treatment of musculoskeletal dysfunction in patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction. CASE DESCRIPTION: The musculoskeletal system was evaluated with the Global Physiotherapy Examination, dynamic balance was measured during walking with triaxial accelerometers positioned on the lower and upper trunk, and symptoms and functional limitations were assessed with standardized self-report measures. The 4 included patients had symptoms of severe dizziness that had lasted more than 1 year after the onset of vestibular dysfunction and a moderate level of perceived disability. Musculoskeletal abnormalities typically included postural misalignment, restricted abdominal respiration, restricted trunk movements, and tense muscles of the upper trunk and neck. The patients attended a modified vestibular rehabilitation program consisting of body awareness exercises addressing posture, movements, and respiration. OUTCOMES: After the intervention, self-reported symptoms and perceived disability improved. Improvements in mobility and positive physical changes were found in the upper trunk and respiratory movements. The attenuation of mediolateral accelerations (ie, body oscillations) in the upper trunk changed; a relatively more stable upper trunk and a concomitantly more flexible lower trunk were identified during walking in 3 patients. DISCUSSION: The recovery process may be influenced by self-inflicted rigid body movements and behavior strategies that prevent compensation. Addressing physical dysfunction and enhancing body awareness directly and dizziness indirectly may help patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction break a self-sustaining cycle of dizziness and musculoskeletal problems. Considering the body as a functional unit and including both musculoskeletal and vestibular systems in examination and treatment may be important.

The Global Body Examination (GBE). A useful instrument for evaluation of respiration.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Assessment of respiration is important in medicine and physical therapy. As respiration is multifaceted, we need several specific examination methods. The purpose of this study was to develop a method for examination of visible respiratory movements, by extracting from two examinations the items with best ability to discriminate among healthy controls, patients with pain disorders and patients with psychotic disorders. METHODS: Two physiotherapists independently examined 132 individuals (34 healthy persons, 32 with localized pain, 32 with widespread pain and 34 with psychoses). Items were assigned to subscales by explorative factor analysis. Internal consistency of subscales was examined with Cronbach's alpha. To examine validity, one-way analysis of variance and the area under the curve (AUC) were used. RESULTS: WE IDENTIFIED FOUR SUBSCALES: Tension, Position of Thorax, Basal respiration and Thoracic movements. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.75 to 0.86. The subscales' discriminating ability was excellent between healthy controls and patients, and fair between patients with localized pain and the two other patient groups. CONCLUSIONS: The respiration domain of the new Global Body Examination has 21 items, which comprise four subscales with high internal consistency and good ability to discriminate between healthy persons and patients with pain disorders or psychosis.

Development of the movement domain in the global body examination.

The purpose of this study was to develop a new Movement domain, based on 16 items from the Global Physiotherapy Examination-52 (GPE-52) and 18 items from the Comprehensive Body Examination (CBE). Furthermore, we examined how well the new domain and its scales would discriminate between healthy individuals and different groups of patients, compared to the original methods. Two physiotherapists, each using one method, independently examined 132 individuals (34 healthy, 32 with localized pain, 32 with generalized pain, and 34 with psychoses). The number of items was reduced by means of correlational and exploratory factor analysis. Internal consistency was examined with Cronbach's alpha. For examination of discriminative validity, Mann-Whitney U-test and Area under the Curve (AUC) were used. The initial 34 items were reduced to two subscales with 13 items: one for range of movement and balance and one for flexibility. Cronbach's alpha was 0.84 and 0.87 for the two subscales. The new subscales showed very good to excellent discriminating ability between healthy persons and the different patient groups (p < 0.001; AUC 0.82-0.95). Furthermore, patients with localized pain had significantly less movement aberrations than the other patient groups. The new Movement domain had fewer items than the GPE-52 and CBE, without losing discriminative validity.

The effect of psychomotor physical therapy on subjective health complaints and psychological symptoms.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to examine the effect of Norwegian psychomotor physical therapy on subjective health complaints and psychological symptoms. METHOD: A non-randomized waiting list controlled design was used. Physiotherapists in Norway recruited patients for a treatment group (n = 40) and waiting list control group (n = 22). Patients on the waiting list could only be included for 6 months, as they then started treatment. Symptoms registration was obtained from both groups at baseline and 6 months, and only for the treatment group also at 12 months. The following self-report forms were used; Subjective Health Complaints Inventory (SCH); Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II); Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait (STAI-T); Bergen Insomnia Scale (BIS); Fatigue Questionnaire (FQ); Quality of Life Inventory (QOLI); The Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ). RESULTS: The patients had had widespread and clinically significant health problems for an average of 9 years upon entrance to the study. After 6 months in psychomotor physical therapy, all the measured symptoms in the treatment group were significantly reduced, but only quality of life was significantly reduced when compared to the waiting list control group. After 12 months in therapy, the patients in the treatment group had continued to improve on all measured variables. The symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as quality of life, were improved from clinical to non-clinical level. CONCLUSIONS: Norwegian psychomotor physical therapy seems to have potential for reducing symptoms of subjective health complaints, depression, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue and improving quality of life, although the process takes time. Further research is needed to gain more rigorous data, and randomized controlled studies are highly welcomed.