Repetitive Peripheral Magnetic Stimulation (rPMS) in Subjects With Lumbar Radiculopathy: An Electromyography-guided Prospective, Randomized Study.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Lumbar radiculopathy refers to the disruption of one or more lumbosacral nerve root functions, usually causing radiating pain and functional impairments. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We aimed to analyze the role of repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation (rPMS) alone or in association with physiokinesiotherapy (PKT) in treating lumbar radiculopathy. A total of 41 patients diagnosed with lumbar radiculopathy were randomly allocated to the rPMS group and the rPMS plus PKT group. Subjects were then administered a total of 10 treatment sessions. RESULTS: A statistically significant improvement was highlighted in both groups in terms of pain score, and electromyography (EMG) analysis depicted a far superior functional recovery in the rPMS plus PKT group. CONCLUSION: rPMS can constitute an effective treatment for subjects with lumbar radiculopathy and its association with a complex physical rehabilitation program could improve the outcome in these patients.

Disability in COPD and Chronic Heart Failure Is the Skeletal Muscle the Final Common Pathway?

ABSTRACT: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Chronic Heart Failure (CHF), two major causes of worldwide morbidity and mortality have important systemic components, affecting additional tissues, other than the lung or the heart, such as the skeletal muscle. Muscle function (or dysfunction) may not only influence the symptoms that limit exercise, but may contribute directly to the poor exercise performance, health status and increased healthcare utilization.The present review tries to summarize the muscular abnormalities in COPD and CHF and the mechanisms underlying these alterations, which are strikingly similar, despite the obvious differences concerning the primary impairment in these two chronic diseases.The muscles therefore represent a potential site to improve patients' functioning level and quality of life of COPD and CHF. Only one practical therapeutic intervention currently exists that can reverse some of the muscle abnormalities observed in COPD and CHF, namely exercise training, which becomes nowadays the "cornerstone" of the whole rehabilitation.