Physical Treatments Journal
Volume:13 Issue: 1, Winter 2023

Increased patellofemoral joint reaction force is the main cause of patellofemoral pain syndrome. Foot pronation causes faulty joint coupling of the lower limb and increases the patellofemoral joint reaction force; accordingly, this study aims to systematically review the effect of the distal interventions on the clinical symptoms and kinematics of patients with patellofemoral pain.

The search strategy was applied to Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Medline, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. The search was limited to the English language. The studies were from 2000 to 2022. In 4 stages, the selected articles were screened for systematic review. The quality of the study was evaluated by the Downs and Black scale. Meanwhile, the articles were classified into 3 categories as follows: High, medium, and low quality.

A total of 12 articles were screened for this systematic review. The quality of the study was medium. Meanwhile, 5 articles had medium quality and 7 articles had high quality. The results of the systematic review showed that distal interventions are effective in improving clinical symptoms and correcting the faulty kinematics of the lower limb.

Distal interventions by correcting the faulty joint coupling reduce the patellofemoral joint reaction force and pain. As a result, distal interventions in combination with proximal exercise have a better effect on clinical symptoms.

Low back pain is humans’ most common musculoskeletal complication. The prevalence of this disorder is reported at 80% during the lifetime. This study aims to investigate the relationship between functional tests and low back pain in active women and men.

This was a cross-sectional correlational research. A total of 80 active men and women with non-specific chronic low back pain in the age range of 20 to 35 years were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The level of pain was measured using the visual analogue scale test and after a 10-min warm-up, the performance was measured using the functional movement screen, +9, and Y balance functional tests. We used the SPSS software, version 21 to analyze the data at a significance level of 0.95.

The results of the Spearman correlation coefficient test showed a significantly negative relationship between low back pain and functional tests of functional movement screen and +9 (r=-0.66, P=0.001; r=-0.71, P=0.001, respectively). In addition, a significantly negative correlation was observed between the Y balance test and the amount of low back pain in active women and men (r=0.71, P=0.001).

By increasing the participants’ performance, their low back pain is likely to decrease, and specialists, coaches, and occupational therapists can probably reduce the low back pain in individuals with non-specific chronic low back pain by improving motor function.

Correct proprioceptive information and muscle balance of the ankle joint muscles are essential in preventing sports injuries. This study aims to investigate the effect of closed kinetic chain exercises on proprioception and inversion/eversion strength imbalance of the ankle joint in track and field athletes with medial tibial stress syndrome.

This was a randomized controlled trial study. In the present study, 22 male track and field athletes with a history of medial tibial stress syndrome and 11 male track and field athletes without medial tibial stress syndrome were purposefully selected and divided into 3 groups of 11 people as follows: 1) Closed kinetic chain exercises group, 2) The control group, and 3) The healthy group. The evaluation of absolute error of ankle joint position sense was done using the isokinetic dynamometer device actively on the leg with medial tibial stress syndrome. Isokinetic muscle strength testing was performed at 30°/s and 120°/s to assess the invertor and evertor muscle strength of the ankle. After evaluating the variables in the pre-test, the experimental group received the closed kinetic chain exercises three days each week for 8 weeks. During this period, the control group and the healthy group did not perform any exercises. Finally, after executing the selected protocol, the mentioned variables were measured again in the post-test. The analysis of covariance test was used to check the variables. In addition, the number of changes between groups was checked by the Bonferroni statistical test.

The results of the one-way analysis of variance statistical test showed no significant difference between the mean of the groups in the pre-test (P≤0.05). The results of the analysis of covariance test showed a significant difference between closed the kinetic chain exercises, control, and healthy groups (P≤0.05). The results of the post hoc test regarding the investigation of the intergroup difference. A significant difference was observed between closed kinetic chain exercises and healthy groups with the control group at post-intervention proprioception and inversion/eversion strength imbalance of the ankle joint. In addition, the results showed no significant differences between the closed kinetic chain exercises group and the healthy group (P≤0.05).

It seems that under the influence of a specialized training course of the closed kinetic chain exercises for athletes, because of the significant changes in establishing the muscle balance of the evertor and invertor muscles of the ankle joint and the sense of proprioception in this area, the sports performance of the athletes improves.

This study aims to examine the effect of 6 weeks of combined exercises (CE), short foot exercise (SFE), and SFE with isometric hip abduction (IHA) on dynamic balance (DB), joint position sense (JPS), and strength in women with flexible flatfoot (FF).

A total of 40 women with flexible flatfoot (FF) participated in this semi-experimental study and were randomly assigned to three groups as follows: CE (n=14), SFE (n=13), and IHA (n=13). Six weeks of exercise were split into 3 sessions under supervision and 3 sessions at home were completed by the participants. The Y balance test, goniometer, and dynamometer were used to assess DB, JPS, and strength before and after the exercises, respectively. The mixed-model repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance statistical test was used to analyze the data with a significance level of 0.05.

The results revealed that after performing the exercises, there was a significant difference in the DB in the SFE group in two posteromedial and posterolateral directions; meanwhile, in the IHA group this difference was in three directions, while in the CE group, it was in the posterolateral direction (P<0.05). After the exercises, no significant difference was observed in either group’s JPS or plantar flexors and dorsal flexors strength (P>0.05). Between the groups, there was no difference in any of the other variables (P>0.05).

Considering that the DB changes in the IHA group were more than in the other two groups, these exercises are suggested to improve the DB in women with FF.

In the profession of car repairmen, incorrect working and sitting positions for a long period are common, which increases the possibility of musculoskeletal disorders and postural abnormalities. Accordingly, this study aims to investigate the relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and postural abnormalities with work experience and body mass index (BMI) in car repairmen.

A total of 60 car repairmen with more than 1 year of experience from Tehran Province and Alborz Province, Iran were selected and evaluated. The New York test with photography was used to determine postural abnormalities and the Nordic questionnaire was used to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. The chi-square test was used to evaluate the prevalence and the Spearman test was employed to investigate the relationship between abnormalities and musculoskeletal disorders with work experience and BMI (P≤0.005).

The results showed that forward head posture abnormalities (75%), torticollis (73.3%), and uneven pelvis (66.7%), had respectively the highest prevalence. The lowest prevalence was related to abnormalities of scoliosis and slight chest depression (3.3%). In addition, musculoskeletal disorders in the lumbar area (56.7%) as well as upper back and knee (36.7%) are the most common disorders, and the lowest disorders are related to the ankles (11.7%) in car repairers. A significant relationship was found between work experience and uneven pelvis and forward shoulder abnormalities (P=0.004). Also, there was a significant positive correlation between BMI and the abdomen protruding (P=0.001). A significant relationship was found between work experience and knee pain (P=0.041); however, no significant relationship was found between BMI and any of the musculoskeletal disorders.

According to the results, there is a relationship between BMI and work experience with common musculoskeletal disorders and postural abnormalities in car repairmen. However, no relationship was detected between BMI and musculoskeletal disorders. Therefore, it is important to improve the level of awareness in this population group regarding proper posture during and before starting their work.

This study aims to assess the effects of an 8-week core stability training on the kinematics and kinetics of trunk flexion and extension motions in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain (CNSLBP).

A total of 30 CNSLBP patients with the age range of 25 to 45 years were randomly divided into 2 equally sized groups. The subjects were identified through clinical examination. Before and after the training, tests were applied to assess peak 3-dimensional hip joint moments, peak negative and positive hip joint powers, and lumbopelvic coupling angles during trunk flexion and extension motions. The first group underwent an 8-week core stability training program, including the specific exercise of the deep muscles of abdominal along with the lumbar multifidus co-activation. After the 8-week program, the post-test stage was performed similarly to the pre-test.

The main effects of “time” (P=0.029, f=0.84) and “time-by-group” interactions (P=0.03, f=0.16) for hip abductor moments and internal rotator moment (P=0.03, f=0.87) were significant. A trend toward the statistically significant main effect of “time” was found for the coupling angle during the flexion phase (P<0.05, f=1.88), extension phase (P=0.02, f=0.93), and “time×group” interaction during the flexion (P<0.05, f=1.96), extension (P=0.01, f=0.96) phases.

Core stability training has the potential to improve kinematics and kinetics during trunk flexion and extension motions in patients with CNSLBP.

Improving brain functions through physical exercises has been the focus of research in recent years. Accordingly, it is important to examine the kind of physical exercises and brain functions that are affected. This study aims to examine the effect of integrated physical cognitive exercises at home on the executive functions of adults.

This was a field trial study, in which 28 people were examined in 2 groups. People in the experimental group participated in combined cognitive and physical exercises for 16 sessions, while the control group did their daily routines. Inhibition components were evaluated by the go/no-go test and working memory through the N-back test at the beginning and end of the training period. The data were analyzed via factorial analysis of variance through the SPSS software, version 19.

The findings indicated that the experimental condition, compared to the control condition, caused a significant improvement in the correct inhibition (P=0.002) and total correct response (P=0.047) components in the go/no-go test, along with the commission errors in the N-back test (P=0.003).

The results showed that the combined physical and cognitive exercise had a positive effect on the core executive functions (attentional inhibition and working memory) and could prevent the performance decrement caused by quarantine and the reduction of daily activities that people were facing.