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Introduction: Increases in demand for therapeutic ultrasound-guided musculoskeletal injections have led to longer waiting times for appointments. With the right training, sonographers are well placed to perform these low-risk procedures. This study evaluated the effect of musculoskeletal injections administered by trained sonographers with respect to patient safety and satisfaction. Methods: Patients were recruited from three radiology clinics staffed with appropriately trained sonographers. Patients who agreed to have their injection completed by a sonographer completed satisfaction surveys immediately after their appointment, with adverse reactions also recorded. Longer-term outcomes were recorded 7–10 days later. Results: 97% of 804 participating patients were completely satisfied with the service they received. Reported adverse events were low, with

The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and physical performance testing are often suggested to be related to sports injury risk. This study explored if the combination of FMS and physical performance testing improved identification of non‐contact injury risk over FMS testing alone in an elite junior Australian football cohort. Over a three‐year period, 573 players completed pre‐season injury history questionnaires, FMS, physical performance testing (20‐m sprint, vertical jump, planned agility testing, and shuttle run test), and subsequent in‐season injury surveillance. Results: Neither previous injury or FMS score

Rationale, aims and objectives Declining capacity to function safely and independently in the community is a manifestation of ageing. Multiple measures are used to define and predict functional decline. This paper explores the use of partial least squares (PLS) analysis to understand the interaction between overtime measures of functional decline. Methods Comprehensive information was captured on individuals aged 65+ who presented at a large metropolitan Australian hospital Emergency Department (ED) for a complaint, which did not result in a hospital admission. They were followed-up by telephone 1 and 3 months, post-ED discharge. Information was collected each time on home situations (living alone, using community services, using a gait aid and having a formal carer), recent falls, hospitalizations and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). PLS analysis was applied to identify overtime relationships between measures. Results Valid information was provided by 147 individuals at all three time points. The eight individual IADL items clustered clearly around physical, mental or combined mental and physical IADLs. These clusters were strongly related to increased use of community supports, gait aid and carer, and living alone. The relationship was less convincingly for hospitalizations, and falls were not explained well. Conclusion PLS analysis offers a novel and comprehensive way of analysing complex health data, which allows sense to be made of relationships over a 3-month period. This analysis provides a better understanding of declining function over time, than could be provided by current health modelling methods.

Background and Purpose. Adolescent spinal pain is a worldwide concern, with few longitudinal studies to validate concerns that an increasing number of adolescents report pain with age. The aim of the present study was to track reports of low back pain (LBP) in adolescents each year over a five-year period (between the ages of 13 and 17 years). Method. A longitudinal, observational, repeated-measures study, commencing in 1999. We followed a group of South Australian students throughout five years of high schooling, reporting on prevalence of recent low back pain each year. Results. In 1999, data were collected from 434 13-year-olds (82.5% eligible students). In the subsequent four years, the response rate from the 1999 sample was, respectively, 72.2%, 69.1%, 56.2% and 40.1%. A significant increasing prevalence of recent LBP was reported for girls and boys. The odds of girls reporting recent LBP in the final study year (fifth year) compared with the first year was 4.4 (95% CI 1.9–10.1), for boys 1.6 (95% CI 0.7–3.7). New cases of girls' recent LBP decreased consistently over the study (90% in 2000, 46.1% in 2001, 42.1% in 2002 and 33% in 2003). New boys' cases decreased in the second and third study years (85% in 2000, 45% in 2001) then increased (45.8% in 2002, 63.6% in 2003), suggesting less established patterns of occurrence. Conclusions. New cases of LBP reflected a decreasing percentage of total LBP reports over each study year for girls (suggesting increasing consistency of LBP occurrence with age). A different pattern was observed for boys, with a reversal of the downward trend after age 15 years, showing an increased percentage of LBP reports that reflected new cases in the final two study years. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Background and Purpose Physiotherapy or Physical Therapy (PT) is the most commonly practised allied health discipline globally. International PT workforce reforms are underway to deal with increasing patient numbers, shrinking medical and nursing workforces and lengthy waiting lists. It is timely to consider international differences in PT, with the aims of identifying opportunities for shared learning and forming stronger international alliances to support consistent and evidence-based workforce reforms. Methods This paper synthesizes freely available information on PT training and service delivery across the UK, Australia and United States (California). The paper considers differences in roles, workplaces, training, legislation and registration, continuing professional development, and accountability. Results There are similarities between UK, Australia and United States (California) in many areas of PT roles, training, registration, legislation and professional practice. However, none has a standard national mechanism by which to demonstrate PT accountability, patient safety or quality care. Moreover, there are different approaches to workforce reforms. There is considerable duplication in physiotherapy governance. Conclusion There are opportunities for targeted international collaborations regarding workforce reforms such as extending scope of practice, and determining and implementing internationally agreed ways of demonstrating PT accountability. The findings of this review have significant policy implications, and identify areas for collaborative research. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.