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The aim of this review is to collect and discuss the current best evidence published in literature about the effect of the Masai Barefoot Technology(MBT) shoes on gait and muscle activation and try to draw conclusions on the possible benefits. We searched Medline, CINAHL, Embase and the Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials. The reference lists of the previously selected articles were then examined by hand. Only studies comparing biomechanical and clinical outcomes were selected. Review, anatomical studies, letter to editor and instructional course were excluded. Finally, all the resulting articles were reviewed and discussed by all the authors to further confirm their suitability for this review: in the end, 22 articles were included. A total of 532 patients presenting a mean age of 34.3 years were studied. All patients evaluated were healthy or amateur sports except in two studies where only obese subjects and knee osteoarthritis patients were involved. Seven studies evaluated only male subjects, whereas four studies evaluated only female. Twelve of twenty-two studies performed electromyographic analyses. Weight was reported in 19 studies, whereas body mass index were reported only in a five studies. All studies reported kinematic analysis of shoe effects and compared the relationship between muscle recruitment and electromyographic activity. Unstable footwears were shown to immediately alter the stability in gait during daily-life activities. The center of body pressure is moved posteriorly with a consequent posterior displacement of the upper part of body in order to regain an appropriate body balance, and these postural changes are associated with an overall increase in the activity of lumbar erector spine muscles, as well as certain lower limb muscles. Current literature provides enough cues to conclude for a beneficial role of MBT shoes in the postural and proprioceptive recovery, but from the same literature cannot be drown clear and appropriate guidance to determine more in detail their indication for specific pathological conditions or for particular phases of the musculoskeletal recovery process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this review is to evaluate the clinical role of sarcopenia in patients affected by osteoarthritis (OA) of major joints. Methods: An online database research was performed, in order to retrieve all articles investigating the relationship between sarcopenia and OA. No peer-reviewed journal was excluded. Papers in English, French, Spanish and Italian language were considered. After consulting the full-text article, five studies have been included in the review. Results: Of the five studies included, four are prospective studies and only one is a cross-sectional study which retrieved data retrospectively. A total of 4,231 patients, presenting a mean age of 62.0 years, were studied. Three studies evaluated only female subjects. Weight, height and body mass index were reported in all the articles. Knee OA has been assessed using the Kellgren-Lawrence grading system and the American college of rheumatology criteria. Alterations of the lean body mass on body weight ratio have been reported to be as a significant predictive parameter in two studies. Relationship between radiographic OA and an increase in the leg lean mass has been observed in one study. Conclusions: We cannot support neither the thesis of a direct effect of sarcopenia on OA development nor the opposite relation, because the up-to-date literature lacks basic science studies concerning these topics. The absence of clinical studies regarding measurements and tools to compare sarcopenia and OA do not allow to definitely clarify this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symptomatic tendon tears are one of the most important causes of pain and joint dysfunction. Among the intrinsic causes, vascularization recently gained a major role. Endothelial function is indeed a key factor, as well as vascular tone and thrombotic factors, in the regulation of vascular homeostasis and the composition of vascular wall. In this review, we studied systematically whether there is a relationship between endothelial dysfunction and tendinopathy. A literature search was performed using the isolated or combined keywords endothelial dysfunction and tendon,’ ‘nitric oxide (NO) and tendinopathy,’ and ‘endothelial dysfunction in tendon healing.’ We identified 21 published studies. Of the selected studies, 9 were in vivo studies, 2 focusing on animals and 7 on humans, while 12 reported about in vitro evaluations, where 7 were carried out on humans and 5 on animals. The evidence about a direct relationship between tendinopathy and endothelial dysfunction is still poor. As recent studies have shown, there is no significant improvement in clinical and functional assessments after treatment with NO in patients suffering from tendinopathy in different locations. No significant differences were identified in the outcomes reported for experiment group when compared with controls treated with conventional surgical procedures or rehabilitation programs. Nitric oxide could be a marker to quantify the response of the endothelium to mechanical stress or hypoxia indicating the final balance between vasodilatating and vasoconstricting factors and their effects, but more ad stronger evidence is still needed to fully support this practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]