OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to systematically review trial-based economic evaluations of manual therapy relative to other alternative interventions used for the management of musculoskeletal conditions. METHODS A comprehensive literature search was undertaken in major medical, health-related, science and health economic electronic databases. RESULTS Twenty-five publications wer...

abstract   background: osteoarthritis (oa) is the most common joint disease occuring after middle age. because of the high mobility of the neck, oa is common in the cervical spine. the purpose of this study was to determine and compare the effects of intermittent traction on patients with mild and moderate cervical oa. therefore, 32 patients with cervical oa were recruited.   methods: aclinical...

introduction: temporomandibular disorders (tmd) lead to masticatory muscle pain, jaw movement disability and limitation in mouth opening. pain is the chief complaint in 90% of the tmd patients which leads to disability and severe socioeconomic costs. the purpose of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of low level laser therapy (lllt) compared to pharmacotherapy with nsaids (napro...

background: acute low back pain is one of the most prevalent diseases which more than 90% of the adults experience at least once during lifetime. the present study was conducted to determine the efficacy of duration of hot water bag usageon pain relief in in the patients with acute low back pain. methods: this clinical trial study was conducted on 20- to 50-year-old patients referring orthopedi...

conclusions categorization of trials based on their classification scheme to investigate the efficacy of classification-based physical therapy could reduce the heterogeneity of trials and allow researchers to understand the contradictory results in this context. results a total of 12 rcts were identified and categorized into four classification schemes. some evidence supporting classification-s...

background: aging has a growing trend in the world. the elderly experience a high incidence of hospitalization and coronary bypass surgery compared with other age groups, and pain is the most common complaint in these patients. this research was conducted to compare the effect of acupressure and cryotherapy on the pain of removing drain tube from the chest of the elderly who have undergone open...