METHODS: Participants (N=142) in this randomized controlled trial were office workers aged 20-50 years old with neck, shoulders, and lower back pain. They were randomly assigned to either the ergonomic modification group, the exercise group, the combined exercise and ergonomic modification group, or the control group (no-treatment). The exercise training group performed a series of stretching exercises, while the ergonomic group received some modification in the working place. Outcome measures were assessed by the Cornell Musculoskeletal Disorders Questionnaire at baseline, after 2, 4, and 6 months of intervention.
RESULTS: There was significant differences in pain scores for neck (MD -10.55; 95%CI -14.36 to -6.74), right shoulder (MD -12.17; 95%CI -16.87 to -7.47), left shoulder (MD -11.1; 95%CI -15.1 to -7.09) and lower back (MD -7.8; 95%CI -11.08 to -4.53) between the exercise and control groups. Also, significant differences were seen in pain scores for neck (MD -9.99; 95%CI -13.63 to -6.36), right shoulder (MD -11.12; 95%CI -15.59 to -6.65), left shoulder (MD -10.67; 95%CI -14.49 to -6.85) and lower back (MD -6.87; 95%CI -10 to -3.74) between the combined exercise and ergonomic modification and control groups. The significant improvement from month 4 to 6, was only seen in exercise group (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: To have a long term effective on MSDs, physical therapists and occupational therapists should use stretching exercises in their treatment programs rather than solely rely on ergonomic modification.
CLINICAL TRIAL ID: NCT02874950 - https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02874950.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospectively, we reviewed nine cases of glomus tumour. A clinical evaluation proforma was developed on the basis of clinical history and specific clinical test for diagnosis of these tumours. All the cases were evaluated and treated surgically by a single surgeon with a specific technique. Post-operatively, diagnosis was confirmed by histopathological examination.
RESULTS: Females (77.78%) were predominantly affected in this series and the tumours commonly occurred in the right hand (66.66%). Spontaneous pain, cold sensitivity test and Love's Pin test was positive in all cases (100%). Hildreth's test was positive in 88.89%. In none of the cases the tumours recurred during minimum follow-up of one year. In all cases, histopathological examination confirmed the preoperative diagnosis of glomus tumours.
CONCLUSION: Diagnosis of glomus tumours can be made clinically based on history taking and clinical examination. Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Ultrasound are not necessary for diagnosis and management of typical subungual tumours.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: A single centre, cohort study evaluating 335 women who have undergone unilateral mastectomy between January 2017 and March 2020 in Malaysia. Regional anaesthesia were given pre-operatively via ultrasound guided pectoral and intercostal nerves block (PECSII).
RESULTS: Utilization of regional anaesthesia increased from 11% in 2017 to 43% in 2020. Types and duration of surgeries were comparable. Opiod consumption was 3 mg lower in those who had PECS2 block ((27 [24-30] mg), in comparison with those who received general anaesthesia only (30 [26-34] mg), p pain score (2 [1-3]; 2 [1-3], p=0.719) and post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) (32.6-32.5%, p = 0.996) were similar.
CONCLUSION: This study highlights the importance of PECS2 block as a component of ERAS protocol for mastectomy in an Asian hospital. This study also inferred that patients may be safely discharged within 24 h of surgery and therefore, same day surgery may be feasible in selected group of patients undergoing mastectomy and this could imply overall cost benefits.
Method: This investigation comprises a cross-sectional descriptive study of all patients visiting two primary care clinics aged 18 years and above. Patients presenting with joint pain answered a questionnaire assessing demographic data, disabilities (measured by the Stanford HAQ-DI), and treatment options.
Results: Of 1,074 patients surveyed, 202 (18.8%) had MSK complaints. The mean age of those with MSK pain was 56.1 years. Incidence increased with age, reaching 78.8% of those over 48 years of age. The knee was the most common site of MSK pain (52.2%), with 20.3% requiring referral for specialist assessment. The median HAQ score was 0.375 and 89.6% of those surveyed had mild disability.
Conclusion: MSK pain is a common problem among patients visiting primary care clinics. The most common site of MSK pain was the knee. On formal assessment, the majority of these patients exhibited mild disability. A significant proportion of patients still required specialist referral. This finding would suggest a need for further training on the management of MSK disease at the primary care level to avoid over-burdening the secondary care services.
Results: The findings showed piano players have a higher NDI, lower CVA, and RSP when compared with the non-piano players at a statistically significant level of p-value <0.05.
Objective: Playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMSD) are a common problem for the pianist. The poor upper body ergonomics influences the natural positioning of the neck and shoulders, which involves forward head posture (FHP) and rounded shoulder posture (RSP). This misaligned position could produce a sensation of pain over the upper body, which affects the piano player and computer users with similar ergonomic posture. Recently, photogrammetry methods are commonly applied in a clinical setting to assess posture. The goal of this research is to compare the upper body playing-related muscu-loskeletal disorders between the piano and the non-piano players by applying photogrammetry.
Materials and Methods: This causal-comparative study includes 70 participants with 35 piano and 35 non-piano players. The participant's FHP was assessed using a digitized photo to record the Craniovertebral angle (CVA) with the support of Kinovea software. Besides, digital Vernier Calliper used to assess the scapular index on the RSP and Neck disability indices (NDI) used to measure neck pain and functional disability of the participants.