Short-Term Effect of Spinal Manipulation on the Magnitude of Exophoria in Adults Who Are Asymptomatic: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the immediate and short-term effects of cervical spinal manipulation (SM), compared with a placebo, on the magnitude of near and distance exophoria in adults with asymptomatic exophoria. METHODS: In this single-blind, randomized controlled trial, individuals with a clinical diagnosis of horizontal exophoria confirmed with the prism alternating cover test (PACT) were allocated to a single intervention session using a high-velocity, low-amplitude cervical SM technique or a sham intervention (manual contact under the head). Outcomes were the magnitude of horizontal heterophoria, as a measure of binocular vision efficiency at near (40 cm) or distance (4 m) fixation, using the PACT. Evaluations were made at baseline, immediately after intervention, and at a 1-week follow-up. RESULTS: From May to September 2021, 44 volunteers (23 women), with a mean age of 35 (SD = 9.5) years, were recruited and equally distributed into the study groups. All participants completed follow-up assessments, and no adverse events were reported. There was a significant time × group interaction for exophoria at near vision, but not at distance fixation. The SM group showed a significant decrease of near exophoria compared with the control group at the 1-week follow-up (mean difference = -1.09 prism diopters; 95% CI = -0.20 to -1.98 prism diopters). CONCLUSION: The use of cervical SM therapy resulted in a significant reduction of the magnitude of horizontal exophoria at near vision (medium effect size), compared with the placebo, in young adults who are asymptomatic. However, these effects were not observed at distance fixation and should be considered cautiously due to the pre-post design with a single intervention session and the short-term follow-up. IMPACT: The findings suggest short-term benefits of SM therapy can manage undiagnosed ocular convergence disorders, although changes were not clinically relevant.

Age related changes in the Q angle of non-professional football players.

Background: Football practice involves a great muscular demand, leading to the development of the lower limbs that, on occasions, can cause deviations from the normal anthropometric values. The quadriceps angle (Q angle) is a value often taken as a reference for the alignment of the lower limbs. Objective: To observe the changes of the Q angle in young football players, because of muscular effort, analyzing the differences between four groups of different ages and to determine whether the playing position might influence these variations. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out with 104 male subjects divided into four groups according to age: under 8 years-old, 8-17 years-old, 17-21 years-old and over 21 years-old. A photograph was taken in standing position and the Q angle was plotted with KINOVEA® software. As for the reliability of the measurements, intraclass intra and interobserver coefficient were 0.958 and 0.860 respectively. The study was conducted in mid-season. Results: Q angle value is greater in those under 8 years of age and decreases gradually and significantly (p < 0.005) until 17-21 years of age, where it stabilizes at values of 5.73° ± 2.78 for right Q angle and 5.88° ± 2.55 for left Q angle. Two way ANOVA demonstrated a significant group*position interaction for goalkeepers with a medium effect size in both angles (p < 0.001) with a medium effect (η2 Right Q angle = 0.31; η2 Left Q angle = 0.37). The values remain unchanged in subjects over 21 years of age (p > 0.005), except for goalkeepers, who suffered a difference in the evolution of the angle within their age category (p < 0.005) and with a high effect size with the other positions (value > 0.8) except forward (value < 0.5). Conclusion: This study determines that the Q angle in football players decreases with growth, reaching values below 15° at the end of development. Playing positions only influence players over the age of 21, and the Q-angle of goalkeepers is greater than that of other players.

The Short-Term Effect of Dynamic Tape versus the Low-Dye Taping Technique in Plantar Fasciitis: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Plantar fasciitis is a painful disorder that affects the plantar fascia of the foot, with a multifactorial aetiology. Dorsal flexion deficiency in the ankle is a risk factor for it. The provisional use of taping is described as part of conservative treatment. Dynamic Tape® is a type of tape that, adhered to muscles, allows for potential elastic energy to accumulate and dissipate later, optimizing its function. Therefore, it can offer immediate benefits while the patient awaits definitive treatment depending on the cause. OBJECTIVE: To verify the effectiveness of Dynamic Tape® and the low-dye taping technique on pain intensity, ankle range of motion, and foot posture index. METHOD: A randomised, double-blind clinical trial was conducted. A total of 57 subjects from the Clinical Podiatry Area of the University of Seville (Spain), clinically diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, were randomized into two groups. For one week, in the gastrocnemius-Achilles-plantar system, one group was treated with Dynamic Tape® and another group with low-dye taping. Pain, degrees of movement of dorsal flexion, and the foot posture index were measured in both groups before the intervention and one week after the intervention. A repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to explore the differences between groups. RESULTS: Significant differences in the decrease in pain intensity using Dynamic Tape® were found when comparing the treatments (p = 0.015) and the foot posture index was more normal in low-dye taping (p < 0.001). In both cases, the treatment showed similar behaviour with respect to the dorsal flexion ankle movement. CONCLUSION: The effectiveness of Dynamic Tape®, compared to that of the low-dye taping, has a major benefit with regard to pain intensity from fasciitis, although it does not produce changes in the ankle range of motion and foot posture index. Consequently, Dynamic Tape® can be considered a taping technique with beneficial effects on pain intensity in the provisional approach to plantar fasciitis.