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This study investigated the impact of early prosthetic intervention on children with upper limb agenesis or amputation. The aim was to assess both how early prosthetics improve a child's movement and coordination skills, as well as how satisfied both the child and their parents are with the prosthesis. Twenty-nine children were evaluated using the Unilateral Below Elbow Test (UBET) and Child Amputee Prosthetics Project—Prothesis Satisfaction Inventory (CAPP-PSI). Results suggest that while children performed tasks faster and more fluidly without a prosthesis, they were satisfied with the prostheses and the service provided. This may be due to ongoing adaptation to the new device. The single child re-evaluated at 12 months showed improvement in prosthesis use, highlighting the potential benefits of early intervention coupled with motor re-education. Further research is needed to optimize prosthetic features and address initial challenges associated with prosthesis use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disabling disease that causes pain and functional limitation. OA symptoms can be treated with intra-articular injections of anti-inflammatory, viscosupplementary, or viscoinductive products. Non-responders to these approaches have limited options, often surgical (e.g. knee replacement). This retrospective study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a single injection of Carboxymethyl-Chitosan for advanced (Kellgren-Lawrence ≥3) and symptomatic knee OA in non-responders to hyaluronic acid. We enrolled 10 patients (5 female, 5 male). Treatment efficacy was assessed through the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS, pain) and the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS, knee function). Data are acquired from rating scales were administered at the time of injection (T0), one month (T1), three months (T2), and six months (T3) after treatment as for clinical practice. Results showed a significant improvement in pain and function at T1, with a subsequent gradual resumption of symptoms. In conclusion, the treatment showed a better outcome in the short term (i.e. up to 1 month after treatment); however, raw values of VAS and KOOS did not return to baseline levels showing a maintenance of improvement albeit not statistically significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic baropodometry is used for both static and dynamic analysis of gait and static posturography. The term baropodometry (etymologically "measurement of foot pressure") refers to a technique that measures point by point the pressures exerted by the foot on the ground, both in standing position (static baropodometry) and during walking (dynamic baropodometry). Posturographic examination evaluates changes in posture. Electronic baropodometry can be used for preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Preventive and diagnostic applications include the screening and diagnosis of orthopedic, neurological, odonto-gnathologic and earnose-&- throat diseases. Among the therapeutic applications, electronic baropodometry can be used both to evaluate the postural improvements obtained by neuromotor and/or surgical rehabilitation techniques and to provide fundamental data for the creation of orthotic insoles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gait is the pattern of the body's movement in space determined by the reciprocal movements of the different body segments (lower extremities, arms and trunk) during locomotion. Gait evaluation can be performed through observational analysis or computerized analysis of walking (gait analysis). Gait analysis is performed within a Gait Analysis Laboratory, which must have adequate equipment and a specialized professional team. The goal is to assess the patient before planning any treatment, which needs to be as specific and targeted as possible. Currently, the pathologies for which gait analysis is most commonly used are cerebral palsy, lower limb amputations and stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing use of musculoskeletal ultrasound in clinical practice is due to its ability to respond quickly, economically and repeatedly to most of the clinical questions in the field of muscletendon and joint problems. In sports and orthopedics, ultrasound makes it possible to evaluate multiple pathological patterns, including inflammatory processes, entrapment syndromes, and muscle, tendon and ligament injuries. Ultrasound is useful for the classification and followup of diseases, too. Musculoskeletal ultrasound is also widely used in the study of rheumatologic diseases, in particular for the evaluation of disease progression and response to treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical and rehabilitation medicine is a medicalspecialist discipline aimed at the prevention, assessment and treatment of disabilities resulting from congenital or acquired diseases. The Rehabilitative Diagnosis makes use of clinical examination and instrumental investigations. These constitute respectively manual and instrumental physiatrists semeiotics. Manual semeiotics deals with the anamnesis and clinical examination. Instrumental Semeiotics uses tools, sometimes complex and sophisticated, which reduce the error of subjectivity and precision typical of manual evaluation. The knowledge of these instruments must necessarily become part of the cultural background and daily clinical practice of each rehabilitation specialist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mesotherapy is a technique that treats locoregional pain with intradermal injection of a drug in the affected area. Its short-term efficacy was observed in patients with low back pain using both normal saline solution, if there were contraindications to drugs' use, or a cocktail of drugs (normal saline solution, lidocaine hydrochloride, and lysine acetylsalicylate), whereas only the latter provided benefit for up to three months after treatment. The aim of this study was to measure the effects of mesotherapy in patients affected by neck pain in spondylarthrosis, a common pathology in rehabilitation, associated with significant disability and increased health expenditure. One hundred patients participated in the study, of whom 50 (mean age 66.9 years) were treated with mesotherapy with a cocktail of drugs and 50 (mean age 64.7 years) with normal saline solution. Pain and disability were measured at different times (i.e. before treatment, at the end of five weeks of treatment, four weeks and 12 weeks after treatment), by using different pain scales, including a visual analogue scale, the short-form McGill pain questionnaire, the Present Pain Intensity scale and the Neck Disability Index. Mesotherapy with either normal saline solution or with a cocktail of drugs were both found to be effective in the short term in reducing pain and disability. However, only patients treated with a cocktail of drugs showed improvement at three months following treatment.

Mesotherapy is an intradermal treatment for patients with local pain. The literature describes the efficacy of mesotherapy in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders measuring a reduction of analgesic drug intake and of healthcare spending. The aim of this study was to measure the effects of mesotherapy on pain and disability in patients with low back pain due to spondyloarthrosis.

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) conservative treatment aims to delay cartilage degeneration; chondroprotective agents are a valid approach in this sense. A commercially available dietary supplement, CartiJoint Forte, containing glucosamine hydrochloride (GH), chondroitin sulfate (CS) and Bio-Curcumin BCM-95®, was used in this trial., Aim: The aim of this study was to assess efficacy and safety of CartiJoint Forte combined with physical therapy in treating subjects with knee OA., Design: A multicenter, prospective, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial., Setting: Outpatients referred to the Rehabilitation Departments of two University Hospitals., Population: Fifty-three patients were randomly assigned to an experimental group (N=26) or a control group (N.=27). Experimental subjects received two tablets of CartiJoint Forte each day for 8 weeks, while those in the control group were provided with a placebo. Three subjects dropped out during the course of the study., Methods: The two groups both received 20 sessions of physical therapy during the course of the trial. Primary outcome was pain intensity, measured both at motion and at rest, using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). A secondary outcome was an assessment of knee function by Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index and Lequesne Index, knee ROM, and two inflammation markers (C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate). Each assessment was carried out at baseline (T0), at 8 weeks (T1) and at 12 weeks (T2)., Results: VAS at rest was found to be reduced between T0 and T1, as well as between T0 and T2 (F=13.712; P=0.0001), with no differences between groups (F=1.724; P=0.191). VAS at motion revealed a significant "group × time-check" interaction (F=2.491; P=0.032), with increasing effect of time on VAS reduction (F=17.748; P=0.0001). This was most pronounced in the experimental group at 8 weeks (F=3.437; P=0.045). The Lequesne Index showed reductions at T1 and T2 compared to T0 (F=9.535; P=0.0001), along with group effect, since the experimental group presented a lower score at T2 (F=7.091; P=0.009). No significant changes were found in the knee ROM and inflammation markers., Conclusion: CartiJoint Forte, added to physical therapy, may ameliorate pain and help to improve algofunctional score in knee OA patients., Clinical Rehabilitation Impact: Treatment of knee OA with curcuminoids plus glycosaminoglycans, added to physical therapy, improves VAS at motion and Lequesne Index scores.

Objectives: Therapeutic effects of physical therapy in neurologic disorders mostly rely on the promotion of use-dependent synaptic plasticity in damaged neuronal circuits. Genetic differences affecting the efficiency of synaptic plasticity mechanisms could explain why some patients do not respond adequately to the treatment. It is known that physical exercise activates the endocannabinoid system and that stimulation of cannabinoid CB1 receptors (CB1Rs) promotes synaptic plasticity in both rodents and humans. We thus tested whether CB1R genetic variants affect responsiveness to exercise therapy., Methods: We evaluated the effect of a genetic variant of the CB1R associated with reduced receptor expression (patients with long AAT trinucleotide short tandem repeats in the CNR1 gene) on long-term potentiation (LTP)-like cortical plasticity induced by transcranial magnetic theta burst stimulation (TBS) of the motor cortex and, in parallel, on clinical response to exercise therapy in patients with multiple sclerosis., Results: We found that patients with long AAT CNR1 repeats do not express TBS-induced LTP-like cortical plasticity and show poor clinical benefit after exercise therapy., Conclusions: Our results provide the first evidence that genetic differences within the CB1R may influence clinical responses to exercise therapy, and they strengthen the hypothesis that CB1Rs are involved in the regulation of synaptic plasticity and in the control of spasticity in humans. This information might be of great relevance for patient stratification and personalized rehabilitation treatment programs.