Assessment of muscle strength in chronic low back pain patients: Comparison between isocinetic rehabilitation and conventional rehabilitation.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic low back pain is a public health problem in view of its functional repercussions and the functional rehabilitation is an integral part of its management. AIM: To compare the evolution of muscle strentgh of spinal extensors and flexors in chronic low back pain patients after an isokinetic rehabilitation protocol and a conventional rehabilitation one. METHOD: This was a prospective and comparative study carried out in the Physical Medicine Department of the Tunis Military Hospital over a period of 7 months. Fifty patients were included, randomly divided into two groups of 25. The first group (G1) benefited from an isokinetic rehabilitation protocol and the second one (G2) from a classic active physiotherapy. We performed a clinical (Sorensen test and Shirado test) and isokinetic evaluation of the trunk muscles before and after rehabilitation. RESULTS: The mean age of the general population was 42±8.6 years old. Clinical evaluation showed a deficit in the extensor and flexor muscles of the spine, more important in the extensors in both groups. After rehabilitation, there was a significant improvement in clinical tests of muscular endurance in G1 and G2. Isokinetic assessment showed a greater muscle deficit in the extensors in both groups. After isokinetic rehabilitation, peak torque for flexors and extensors increased by 21% and 23% respectively, power was 34% and 37% higher, and total work increased by 26% and 47%. On the other hand, the (F/E) ratios were unchanged for all three speeds. In Group 2, peak torque values for flexors and extensors increased by 22 and 15% respectively, power was higher by 31 and 23% and total work was also up by 29 and 17%, while F/E ratios were also unchanged. Group 1 showed the greatest improvement in extensor strength at 60°/s, and in power at 90°/s for the various muscles. CONCLUSION: In our study, we concluded that endurance and muscular strength improved the most after isokinetic rehabilitation.

Change in some quality parameters and oxidative stability of olive oils with regard to ultrasound pretreatment, depitting and water addition.

Ultrasound pretreatment with different times (0, 4, 8, 10 min) on olive paste previous malaxation of olive oil extraction along with depitting and water application procedures were studied. The effects of these procedures on oil yield, quality parameters and oxidative stability have been studied. Therefore, the olive oil yield increase with increasing time of ultrasound treatment. On the other hand, the application of ultrasound did not adversely affect the quality characteristics, as well as the antioxidant activity, when comparing with untreated paste. Furthermore, the oxidative stability data, we can conclude that ultrasound treatment can affect the olive oil oxidative stability. This study could provide useful information for industry to produce olive oil with high yield and quality.