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Purpose: Several outcome measures are available to assess the severity of fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim of this study was to adapt the Italian version of the Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS-40) and its modified versions: a 21-item Modified scale (MFIS-21), its 5-item short version (MFIS-5), and an 8-item version for daily use (DFIS-8) and investigate their measurement properties through classical theory-test (CTT) and Rasch analysis (RA). Methods: 229 Italian-speaking adults with MS were included. Questionnaires were cross-culturally translated and subjected to CTT (i.e. internal consistency through Cronbach's alpha and unidimensionality through confirmatory factor analysis [CFA]) and RA. (i.e. internal construct validity, reliability, and targeting). Results: Internal consistency was high for all scales (>0.850). Final CFAs reported issues in the unidimensionality for all scales except for FIS-40. Baseline RA revealed a misfit for all scales. After adjusting for local dependency, FIS-40, MFIS-21, and MFIS-5 fitted the Rasch model (RM). MFIS-21 and D-FIS-8 required a structural modification, i.e. item deletions to satisfy the RM. Conclusion: The FIS-40, MFIS-21, MFIS-5, and DFIS-8 achieved the fit to the RM after statistical and structural modifications. The fit to the RM allowed for providing ordinal-to-interval measurement conversion tables for all the questionnaires. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: The Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS-40), the 21-item Modified scale (MFIS-21), its 5-item short version (MFIS-5) and the 8-item version for daily use (DFIS-8) have been successfully cross-culturally validated in Italian. The FIS-40 and its versions fit the Rasch Model with minimal changes, determining that the studied outcomes represent a unidimensional construct, i.e. fatigue in multiple sclerosis. The final Rasch Model enables the transformation of scores into interval-level measurements, allowing clinicians to gauge the distance between individuals' scores on the scale continuum. Interval-level transformation allows rehabilitation professionals to better interpret clinical changes and researchers to apply parametric statistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of the individual ability of modulating and coordinating the right and left bite force is poorly investigated. The present study describes a methodology for the assessment of the bilateral control of the biting force and evaluates the test-retest reliability in a sample of 13 healthy subjects. By modulating the intensity and the left/right balance of the biting force, the subject was able to drive a cursor on the screen to "reach and hold" targets, randomly generated within the physiological "range of force" of the subject. The average motor performance was evaluated by the mean cursor-target distance = 13 ± 5%, the Offset Error = 9 ± 5% and the standard deviation of the force vector = 17.7 ± 6.1% (expressed as % of the target). Mean distance and standard deviation indices had acceptable reliability. This technique improves the characterization of the mandibular motor function and it may have a relevant role for the assessment and rehabilitation of the neuromusculoskeletal disorders affecting the orofacial system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, behavior, and the clinical management procedures of the Italian physical therapists specialized in orthopedic manipulative physical therapy (OMPT) toward running and its correlation with low back pain (LBP). Design: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in 2019, according to the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E‐Surveys (CHERRIES) and Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. Setting: Italy. Participants: One thousand two hundred and eighteen Italian OMPTs. Survey Monkey software was used to administer the survey. The questionnaire was self-reported and included 26 questions. Descriptive statistics were used and related to the effective respondents for each question. One thousand two hundred and eighteen questionnaires (60.9%) were included in the analysis. A considerable cohort of OMPTs working in private practice clinical settings (n = 845; 69.4%; 95% CI 66.7–71.9) has indicated running not to be a relevant risk factor for the onset of LBP (n = 806; 66.2%; 95% CI 63.4–68.8). Moreover, most of the participants (n = 679; 55.7%; 95% CI 52.9–58.5) adopted a combination of manual therapy techniques and therapeutic exercise for the management of runners with LBP. Widespread knowledge of clinical and theoretical management of LBP in runners-patients has emerged among Italian OMPTs. The OMPTs' academic background agrees with the recent literature and therefore highlights the paucity of studies related to LBP as running-related injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dear Editor, We read with interest the paper by Brindisino et al.,[1] performing the Italian cross-cultural validation of the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) in individuals with non-specific shoulder pain. The COSMIN checklist for assessing the methodological quality of studies on measurement properties of health status measurement instruments: an international Delphi study. The domain reliability refers to three measurement properties: internal consistency, reliability (i.e., test-retest, inter/intra-rater), and measurement error. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Peripheral Neuropathic Pain (PNP) is a common clinical condition. Neurodynamic concepts are a useful tool to assess these pathologies, and neurodynamic testing is considered valid when assessing patients with PNP or other neurological condition. However, evidence regarding reliability of neurodynamic testing is still lacking. Objectives: To summarise and synthesise the evidence about the reliability of Upper Limb Neurodynamic Tests (ULNTs).Study design: Systematic review with meta-analysis. Methods: MEDLINE, PEDro, CINAHL, Scopus, and EMBASE were searched from inception to February 2012. All publications inherent the reliability of ULNTs in individuals with and without pathologies were included. The assessment of risk of bias was performed through the use of QAREL score. A meta-analysis was planned accordingly to group homogeneity found. Result: 14 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. Regarding intra-rater reliability, their results suggest that parameters subject-related (Onset of Pain, OP;Submaximal Pain,SP) are more reliable than parameters rater-related (First Resistance, R1;Second Resistance, R2) even though the risk of bias has been evaluated as moderate-to-high. The result of the meta-analysis of the two studies with moderate risk of bias included in the quantitative synthesis show that ULNT1 has a moderate reliability (k = 0.69; 95% CI = 0.49 - 0.89). Conclusion: Although promising results regarding clinical performance of ULNT1 test, its reliability still needs to be confirmed in a clinical population with further studies of higher methodological quality. Moreover, a difference in Range of Motion (RoM) greater than 10° should be considered as clinically relevant when applying astructural differentiation manoeuvres, comparing the response with the contralateral arm, or detecting a treatment effect. However, further confirmation and validationis needed to test this hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background and Aim: In the acute phase of neuropathic pain due to nerve root disorders, the neurodynamic approach proposes the mobilization of the contralateral limb to decrease the pain and increase the range of motion in the affected limb. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the contralateral knee mobilization on the ipsilateral knee extension range of motion in Slump position in healthy adult subjects., Methods: Thirty-eight healthy subjects underwent a placebo, control and experimental manoeuvres that included a passive contralateral knee mobilization into extension. The knee, hip and cervical angles and distance between glabella and femoral condyle achieved in Slump test position were measured with an optoelectronic motion analysis system before and after each manoeuvre., Results: Experimental manoeuvre produced a statistically significant increase of the knee extension ROM when compared to the control (p=.017) and placebo (p=.007) manoeuvres. A significant increase of the hip angle and distance between glabella and femoral condyle was detected after the experimental manoeuvres (p<.001), but not after the placebo and control manoeuvres., Conclusions: The contralateral mobilization in Slump position increases the ipsilateral knee extension ROM. Further research is required to confirm that the knee increment ROM was due to the neural component.