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Most established clinical walking tests assess specific aspects of movement function (velocity, endurance, etc.) but are generally unable to determine specific biomechanical or neurological deficits that limit an individual's ability to walk. Recently, inertial measurement units (IMU) have been used to collect objective kinematic data for gait analysis and could be a valuable extension for clinical assessments (e.g., functional walking measures). This study assesses the reliability of an IMU-based overground gait analysis during the 2-min walk test (2mWT) in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Furthermore, the study elaborates on the capability of IMUs to distinguish between different gait characteristics in individuals with SCI. Twenty-six individuals (aged 22-79) with acute or chronic SCI (AIS: C and D) completed the 2mWT with IMUs attached above each ankle on 2 test days, separated by 1 to 7 days. The IMU-based gait analysis showed good to excellent test-retest reliability (ICC: 0.77-0.99) for all gait parameters. Gait profiles remained stable between two measurements. Sensor-based gait profiling was able to reveal patient-specific gait impairments even in individuals with the same walking performance in the 2mWT. IMUs are a valuable add-on to clinical gait assessments and deliver reliable information on detailed gait pathologies in individuals with SCI.Trial registration: NCT04555759., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: To determine the feasibility and estimates of effects of a supervised exercise- and education-based prehabilitation programme aiming to improve knee functioning compared with usual care in patients awaiting total knee arthroplasty., Design: A randomized controlled pilot study., Subjects: Patients receiving primary, unilateral total knee arthroplasty., Methods: Patients randomized to the intervention group participated in a personalized 4-8-week prehabilitation programme before surgery. Feasibility of the intervention and self-reported knee functioning, pain, physical performance and hospital stay were assessed at baseline, immediately preoperatively, 6 and 12 weeks after surgery., Results: Twenty patients (mean age 72.7±5.95 years) were enrolled in this study. The personalized prehabilitation programme was found to be feasible and safe, with an exercise adherence of 90%. Significant medium interaction effects between groups and over time favouring prehabilitation were reported for the sport subscale of the Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (F(3/54) = 2.895, p = 0.043, η² = 0.139) and Tegner Activity Scale (F(2.2/39.1) = 3.20, p = 0.048, η² = 0.151)., Conclusion: The absence of adverse events and high adherence to the programme, coupled with beneficial changes shown in the intervention group, support the conduct of a full-scale trial investigating the effectiveness of prehabilitation.

Introduction and hypothesis: To investigate relaxin-2 concentration comparing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and non-GDM patients during pregnancy according to urinary incontinence (UI) and pelvic function status. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study evaluating 282 pregnant women from 24 weeks of gestation. The participants were divided into two groups, non-GDM and GDM, according to American Diabetes Association's diabetes mellitus gestational threshold. In addition, according to subanalysis, both groups were subdivided according to the presence of pregnancy-specific urinary incontinence: non-GDM continent, non-GDM incontinent, GDM continent, and GDM incontinent. All participants filled in questionnaires on clinical, obstetric, and urinary continence status (International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form, ICIQ-SF, and Incontinence Severity Index, ISI), followed by pelvic floor muscle evaluation by the PERFECT scheme in which strength, endurance, and speed of contractions were evaluated. Results: Serum relaxin-2 concentrations were significantly lower in pregnant women with pregnancy-specific urinary incontinence in both non-GDM and GDM patients, but GDM showed the lowest concentration. In addition, the stratification of the groups according to pelvic floor muscle strength showed that pregnant patients with GDM and modified Oxford scale 0–2 had significantly lower levels than those who were non-GDM and GDM with Modified Oxford Scale 3–5. Relaxin-2 level was much lower in GDM incontinent pregnant women with MOS 0–2 compared to the other three groups. Conclusions: Lower relaxin-2 concentration was associated with the presence of pregnancy-specific urinary incontinence, but the combination of GDM, pregnancy-specific urinary incontinence, and lower levels of pelvic floor strength led to lower levels of relaxin-2 compared to the other three groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neck pain is one of the leading causes of years lived with disability, and approximately half of people with neck pain experience recurrent episodes. Deficits in the sensorimotor system can persist even after pain relief, which may contribute to the chronic course of neck pain in some patients. Evaluation of sensorimotor capacities in patients with neck pain is therefore important. No consensus exists on how sensorimotor capacities of the neck should be assessed in physiotherapy. The aims of this systematic review are: (a) to provide an overview of tests used in physiotherapy for assessment of sensorimotor capacities in patients with neck pain; and (b) to provide information about reliability and measurement error of these tests, to enable physiotherapists to select appropriate tests., Methods: Medline, CINAHL, Embase and PsycINFO databases were searched for studies reporting data on the reliability and/or measurement error of sensorimotor tests in patients with neck pain. The results for reliability and measurement error were compared against the criteria for good measurement properties. The quality of evidence was assessed according to the modified GRADE method proposed by the COSMIN group., Results: A total of 206 tests for assessment of sensorimotor capacities of the neck were identified and categorized into 18 groups of tests. The included tests did not cover all aspects of the sensorimotor system; tests for the sensory and motor components were identified, but not for the central integration component. Furthermore, no data were found on reliability or measurement error for some tests that are used in practice, such as movement control tests, which apply to the motor component. Approximately half of the tests showed good reliability, and 12 were rated as having good (+) reliability. However, tests that evaluated complex movements, which are more difficult to standardize, were less reliable. Measurement error could not be evaluated because the minimal clinically important change was not available for all tests., Conclusion: Overall, the quality of evidence is not yet high enough to enable clear recommendations about which tests to use to assess the sensorimotor capacities of the neck., (© 2023. Italian Society of Physiotherapy.)

Background: Physiological motion of the lumbar spine is a topic of interest for musculoskeletal health care professionals since abnormal motion is believed to be related to lumbar complaints. Many researchers have described ranges of motion for the lumbar spine, but only few have mentioned specific motion patterns of each individual segment during flexion and extension, mostly comprising the sequence of segmental initiation in sagittal rotation. However, an adequate definition of physiological motion is still lacking. For the lower cervical spine, a consistent pattern of segmental contributions in a flexion-extension movement in young healthy individuals was described, resulting in a definition of physiological motion of the cervical spine., Objective: This study aimed to define the lumbar spines' physiological motion pattern by determining the sequence of segmental contribution in sagittal rotation of each vertebra during maximum flexion and extension in healthy male participants., Methods: Cinematographic recordings were performed twice in 11 healthy male participants, aged 18-25 years, without a history of spine problems, with a 2-week interval (time point T1 and T2). Image recognition software was used to identify specific patterns in the sequence of segmental contributions per individual by plotting segmental rotation of each individual segment against the cumulative rotation of segments L1 to S1. Intraindividual variability was determined by testing T1 against T2. Intraclass correlation coefficients were tested by reevaluation of 30 intervertebral sequences by a second researcher., Results: No consistent pattern was found when studying the graphs of the cinematographic recordings during flexion. A much more consistent pattern was found during extension, especially in the last phase. It consisted of a peak in rotation in L3L4, followed by a peak in L2L3, and finally, in L1L2. This pattern was present in 71% (15/21) of all recordings; 64% (7/11) of the participants had a consistent pattern at both time points. Sequence of segmental contribution was less consistent in the lumbar spine than the cervical spine, possibly caused by differences in facet orientation, intervertebral discs, overprojection of the pelvis, and muscle recruitment., Conclusions: In 64% (7/11) of the recordings, a consistent motion pattern was found in the upper lumbar spine during the last phase of extension in asymptomatic young male participants. Physiological motion of the lumbar spine is a broad concept, influenced by multiple factors, which cannot be captured in a firm definition yet., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03737227; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03737227., International Registered Report Identifier (irrid): RR2-10.2196/14741., (©Inge Caelers, Toon Boselie, Wouter van Hemert, Kim Rijkers, Rob De Bie, Henk van Santbrink. Originally published in JMIR Biomedical Engineering (http://biomsedeng.jmir.org), 20.06.2023.)

Background: Perturbation-based balance training (PBT) is an emerging intervention shown to improve balance recovery responses and reduce falls in everyday life in older adults. However, perturbation interventions were heterogeneous in nature and need improvement. This study aims to investigate the effects of a PBT protocol that was designed to address previously identified challenges of PBT, in addition to usual care, on balance control and fear of falling in older adults at increased risk of falling., Methods: Community-dwelling older adults (age ≥ 65 years) who visited the hospital outpatient clinic due to a fall incident were included. Participants received PBT in addition to usual care (referral to a physiotherapist) versus usual care alone. PBT consisted of three 30-minute sessions in three weeks. Unilateral treadmill belt accelerations and decelerations and platform perturbations (shifts and tilts) were applied during standing and walking on the Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN, Motek Medical BV). This dual-belt treadmill embedded in a motion platform with 6 degrees of freedom is surrounded by a 180° screen on which virtual reality environments are projected. Duration and contents of the training were standardised, while training progression was individualised. Fear of falling (FES-I) and balance control (Mini-BESTest) were assessed at baseline and one week post-intervention. Primary analysis compared changes in outcome measures between groups using Mann-Whitney U tests., Results: Eighty-two participants were included (PBT group n = 39), with a median age of 73 years (IQR 8 years). Median Mini-BESTest scores did not clinically relevantly improve and were not significantly different between groups post-intervention (p = 0.87). FES-I scores did not change in either group., Conclusions: Participation in a PBT program including multiple perturbation types and directions did not lead to different effects than usual care on clinical measures of balance control or fear of falling in community-dwelling older adults with a recent history of falls. More research is needed to explore how to modulate PBT training dose, and which clinical outcomes are most suitable to measure training effects on balance control., Trial Registration: Nederlands Trial Register NL7680. Registered 17-04-2019 - retrospectively registered. https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/7680 ., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Objectives: To determine the effect of 1-h education session, compared with no education, on physiotherapists' (PTs) inter-rater reliability in two lumbar spine motor control tests (MCTs): waiter's bow (WB) and sitting knee extension (SKE). To determine whether reliability at baseline and the effect of education are affected by PT's clinical experience, knowledge and experience of MCTs, and post-graduate education in manual therapy., Design: Randomized controlled trial., Participants: 54 PTs., Intervention: The experimental group (EG) took part in a 1-h group education session. Control group (CG) had no intervention., Measurements: At baseline and after EG had completed the education session, therapists rated 40 SKE and 40 WB video recordings., Analysis: Changes in Fleiss' kappa were compared between groups. Differences >0.1 in kappa values were considered meaningful. Regression analysis was used to evaluate the effect of therapist's characteristics on inter-rater reliability at baseline and changes in inter-rater reliability., Results: Education had significant and meaningful effect on reliability compared with no education. WB kappa values improved from 0.36 to 0.63 in the experimental group and from .39 to .46 in the control group. SKE kappa values improved from .50 to .71 in the EG and from 0.49 to 0.57 in the CG. None of PTs' characteristics affected reliability at baseline or education effects., Conclusion: The effect of 1-h group education session for physiotherapists on inter-rater reliability in MCTs is significant and meaningful. Provision of education for PTs in performing observational tests would improve inter-rater reliability, resulting in improved treatment planning and outcome evaluation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Nil., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the intraday and interday variability and systematic change over the day of active cervical range of motion (aCROM) measurements in asymptomatic persons using a clinically applicable measurement device., Methods: A prospective observational study was performed. Sixteen adults (8 men and 8 women, median age 51 years) without neck pain in the last 3 months were recruited in 2 physiotherapy practices. Active cervical range of motion was estimated using the Apple iPhone application "3D Range of Motion." Measurements were performed 3 times a day for 7 days and spread over a period of 3 weeks. Mean values of aCROM were calculated. Intraday and interday variability was estimated by calculating limits of agreement., Results: The limits of agreement for intraday variability ranged from ±12.1° for left rotation to ±15.5° for total rotation. For interday variability, the limits of agreement ranged from ±14.2° for right rotation to ±20.1° for total rotation. No systematic change over the day was found., Conclusion: This study showed substantial intraday and interday variability of aCROM measurements in asymptomatic people. No trend toward an increased or decreased aCROM was observed during the course of the day. When interpreting aCROM values, clinicians should consider the degree of variation in aCROM measurements over time., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether prehabilitation influenced knee functioning before and within the first year after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) surgery. DESIGN: Intervention systematic review with meta-analysis. LITERATURE SEARCH: The authors searched the MEDLINE/PubMED, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, Web of Science, and Scopus databases from their inception until March 2022. STUDY SELECTION CITERIA: The authors included peer-reviewed articles comparing preoperative, short-, mid- or long-term effects of exercise-based physical therapy before primary unilateral TKA with TKA without prehabilitation. DATA SYNTHESIS: We assessed bias using the Cochrane Risk-of-Bias tool (ROB 2.0) and therapeutic validity using the i-CONTENT tool. Standardized mean differences (Hedges' g ) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for knee functioning. Certainty of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. RESULTS: Sixteen trials (968 participants) were included; 14 qualified for meta-analysis. Low to very low certainty of evidence favored prehabilitation over no intervention for improving knee functioning before ( g = 1.23; 95% CI: 0.49, 1.97) and up to 3 months after TKA (short-term: 1 day to 1 month, g = 0.90; 95% CI: 0.18, 1.61; mid-term: 6 weeks to 3 months, g = 0.45; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.84). There were no significant between-group differences at long-term follow-up (6-12 months, g = 0.07; 95% CI: -0.17, 0.30). CONCLUSION: There was low to very low certainty of evidence that prehabilitation promotes superior knee functioning before and up to 3 months after TKA, compared to TKA alone. The long-term postoperative effects were inconclusive. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2022;52(11):709-725 Epub: 20 September 2022. doi:10.2519/jospt.2022.11160 .

Purpose: Two commonly used imaging techniques to aid in the diagnosis of neurodegenerative parkinsonian syndromes are dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging with [ 123 I]-FP-CIT single-photon emission computed tomography (DAT-SPECT) and positron emission tomography with [ 18 F]-FDOPA (FDOPA-PET). This paper provides a unique series of parkinsonian patients who received both FDOPA-PET and DAT-SPECT in routine clinical practice and compares the reported results to assess potential differences between these two imaging techniques., Methods: We present 11 patients with a clinically uncertain parkinsonian syndrome (CUPS), who received both FDOPA-PET and DAT-SPECT. All patients received an FDOPA-PET scan and DAT-SPECT as part of routine clinical care., Results: The median time between the F-DOPA-PET scan and DAT-SPECT scan was 6 months (range 0-15 months). There was a discrepancy in the reported results of the FDOPA-PET and DAT-SPECT scans in nine patients, including 7 patients whose FDOPA-PET scan was reportedly normal, whereas their DAT-SPECT scan was abnormal., Conclusions: In this case series of CUPS patients, DAT-SPECT was more often rated as abnormal than FDOPA-PET. The striatal loss of FDOPA uptake can be less pronounced than that of DAT binding in CUPS patients in early disease stages. Consequently, the interpretation of FDOPA-PET scans in CUPS can sometimes be challenging in routine practice., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: It seems that nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP) cannot be successfully treated with a single intervention of any kind. However, a positive effect of an active lifestyle including physical activities in NSLBP is reported on pain and disability. Advising regular physical activity is one of the mainstays in physical therapy treatment, appealing to patients' adherence. Many patients with low back pain do not seem to adhere to their physiotherapist's advice. In this study, the influence of social support on adherence to an activity advice will be investigated., Objective: Objective of the study is to investigate if patients with low back pain randomised to receive social support adhere better to an activity advice than patients randomised to the control group., Methods: In a randomized controlled clinical trial, in private physiotherapy practices in the Netherlands, patients ≥18 years presenting with at least a second episode of nonspecific low back pain will be randomized over two groups: activity advice and social support as an add-on to usual care versus usual care alone. The primary outcome measure is adherence to an activity advice measured by an activity monitor at 1, 6 and 12 weeks. All other objectives will be measured by questionnaires., Discussion: This project is the first comprehensive research project to assess whether social support influences adherence to an activity advice outside the clinical setting without supervision of a healthcare provider. Where evidence of influence on social support is lacking, findings may have implications for the management of patients with low back pain. In addition, findings may enable physiotherapists to predict in which patients with low back pain an activity advice with social support makes sense., Clinicaltrial: GOV: NCT02996955., (© 2022 The Authors. Physiotherapy Research International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)