OBJECTIVE the primary aim was to determine if laser acupuncture (LA) is more effective than sham laser in reducing pain and disability in adults with chronic non-specific low back pain. METHODS the design was a double blind, two-group parallel randomised controlled trial. The active intervention was an 830 nm (infrared), 10 mW, Ga-Al-As laser diode laser for acupuncture and a sham control. Th...

There is limited evidence comparing the effects of manual and instrumented-assisted manipulations among adults with neck pain. Our purpose was to determine a multisession regime instrument-assisted cervical manipulation on pain, disability, perception change, muscle properties in subjects nonspecific We conducted double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study 32 Two groups received three se...

BACKGROUND Conservative management of foot problems in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may consist of the prescription of customised foot orthoses. Indications for foot orthoses are not clear and the effectiveness of the intervention is highly variable among patients. Knowledge on which patients benefit the most from foot orthoses can help to select patients eligible for this type of in...

Objective: Mechanical neck pain is a very common problem in society and can lead to disability. In modern societies, increasing expectations from individuals work, family social life have brought along sleep disorders, mental physical fatigue. The aim of our study was examine the effects disorder, fatigue on mechanical pain.Method: Two hundred fifty-two with having mean age 28.01±9.97 years wer...

BACKGROUND Although exercise is a commonly recommended treatment for ankylosing spondylitis (AS), little is known about the effectiveness of unsupervised recreational and back exercises. We examined the effects of recreational exercise and back exercises on patient-reported pain severity, stiffness severity, and functional disability in a prospective longitudinal study of 220 patients with AS. ...

We studied the associations between psychosocial variables and sick-leave among patients with musculoskeletal pain. Patients (n = 586) seeking care to relieve their pain at health care and physiotherapy centres, completed a questionnaire about such variables as clinical characteristics (e.g. pain intensity), psychological well-being (e.g. burnout, depression) and coping strategies. The results ...

Background: Clinicians and researchers commonly use responsive outcome measures to interpret changes in a patient's condition as a result of an intervention. This study was conducted to assess the ability of the Persian version of Neck Disability Index and Functional Rating Index to detect responsiveness in the patients with neck pain.Methods: A diagnostic accuracy study was done in Ahvaz, Iran...