Musculoskeletal System

Dietary protein and bone health: A systematic review and meta-analysis from the National Osteoporosis Foundation

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition ShamsWhite MM, et al. – Researchers assessing the impacts of dietary protein consumption alone and with calcium with or without vitamin D (Ca±D) on bone health measures in adults. Current evidence shows no adverse impacts of higher protein consumptions. Although there were positive trends on bone mineral density (BMD) at […]

Osteoporosis: The Toxic Metal Effect

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S. Millions of Americans have been led to believe that osteoporosis is simply a deficiency of the common drugs, Boniva, Evista, Actonel, or Fosamax. Many are prescribed the “knee-jerk” recommendation of 1500 mgs of calcium a day to prevent osteoporosis. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. It is […]

Fear of Movement Plagues Patients with Symptomatic Knee OA

by Wayne Kuznar, Contributing Writer April 07, 2017 Fear of movement is common among patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA). More than three-fourths of patients with symptomatic knee OA who were enrolled in a clinical trial of physical therapy and exercise training reported some fear of movement on a novel measure aimed at that very phenomenon in persons with OA, […]

Variability in diagnostic error rates of 10 MRI centers performing lumbar spine MRI examinations on the same patient within a 3-week period

49 Distinct findings were reported related to a distinct pathology Only 1 finding was consistently reported in 9 out of the 10 MRIs 32.7% of interpretive findings only appeared once across all 10 reports 2 exams reported a disc herniation at all five lumbar segments and 1 exam did not report any herniation Central canal […]

Knee Surgery Does Not Improve Life Quality for Many Patients

Medscape.com Pam Harrison March 29, 2017 Total knee replacement provides minimal quality-of-life benefit for patients with less severe disability at baseline, according to new research. Thus, the treatment, as currently practiced in the United States, is not cost-effective. “Improvements in quality of life with total knee replacement were on average smaller than previously shown,” Bart […]

Therapeutic efficacy of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug therapy versus exercise therapy in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain: a prospective study – Full Text

Naoto Takahashi FUKUSHIMA JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCE Vol. 63 (2017) No. 1 p. 8-15 Abstract Therapy for chronic, nonspecific low back pain is mainly conservative: medication and/or exercise. Pharmacotherapy, however, has side effects, and the quantities of concomitant drugs in older persons require attention. Although exercise promises improved function, its use to alleviate pain is controversial. Thus, we […]

Knee Patients Spending Millions on Wasted Treatments, Study Finds

NBC NEWS MAR 14 2017, 4:38 PM ET by MAGGIE FOX Wasted treatments for knee pain have racked up millions of dollars in medical bills, researchers reported Tuesday. Patients who had knee replacements went through treatments such as injections that did not help, that are not recommended, and that accounted for a third of their […]

Manual therapy appears to be the most common non-medical treatment utilized for the management of common recurrent headaches – Full Text

A critical review of manual therapy use for headache disorders: prevalence, profiles, motivations, communication and self-reported effectiveness Craig S. Moore BMC NeurologyBMC series – open, inclusive and trusted201717:61 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12883-017-0835-0© The Author(s). 2017 Received: 2 August 2016Accepted: 13 March 2017Published: 24 March 2017 Abstract Background Despite the expansion of conventional medical treatments for headache, many sufferers […]

Study cites risk factors for conversion to TKA following knee arthroscopy

Boyd JA, et al. Orthopedics. 2016;doi:10.3928/01477447-20160719-01. March 7, 2017 Results from this study demonstrated women, patients 70 years and older, obese patients, those with diabetes, depression disorders and rheumatoid arthritis had a higher chance of conversion to total knee arthroplasty 2 years following a knee arthroscopy. Researchers identified 68,090 patients older than 50 years who […]

Magnesium Oxide Supplementation for Nocturnal Leg Cramps

March 07, 2017 JAMA internal medicine TAKE-HOME MESSAGE Adults with nocturnal leg cramps (NLC) were randomized to receive daily magnesium oxide capsules or placebo for 4 weeks to assess the effect of magnesium supplements on preventing NLC. There was no difference between the two groups for reduction of frequency of reported NLC, severity and duration […]

Knee Pain Severity, Not Structural Damage, a Risk Factor for Incident Widespread Pain

MARCH 3, 2017 For people who have osteoarthritis (OA), knee pain severity may be a far more important predictor of long-term incident widespread pain than structural damage, according to results from Canada’s Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study (MOST). Indeed, researchers at the Université de Montréal concluded that consistent frequent knee pain, symptomatic knee OA and knee pain […]

Dry Needling Versus Cortisone Injection in the Treatment of Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome: A Non-Inferiority Randomized Clinical Trial

Kindyle L. Brennan, PT, PhD Study Design Prospective, randomized, partially-blinded. Background Greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS) is the current terminology for what was once called greater trochanteric or sub-gluteal bursitis. Cortisone (corticosteroid) injections into the lateral hip is a traditionally accepted treatment for this condition. However, the effectiveness of injecting the bursa with steroids is […]

Lung cancer and shoulder pain: What’s the connection?

Tue 14 March 2017 By Zawn Villines Reviewed by Christina Chun, MPH Most people experience shoulder pain, usually due to inflammation or muscle injuries. Much less frequently, shoulder pain can be a sign of lung cancer. Although shoulder pain is not a hallmark of lung cancer, any persistent unexplained pain warrants a visit to a […]

Very High Prevalence of Frozen Shoulder in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes of More than 45 Years’ Duration. The Dialong Shoulder Study

Niels Gunnar Juel, MD Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Highlights •59% of patients with type 1 diabetes over 45 years had frozen shoulder, 73% bilaterally. •Patients with painful frozen shoulder had highest disability and least shoulder mobility. •High glycemic index was associated severe disability and restricted shoulder mobility. Abstract Objective To compare the prevalence […]

Neck Pain, Preoperative Opioids, and Functionality After Cervical Fusion

Mhamad Faour, MD Orthopedics January/February 2017 – Volume 40 · Issue 1: 25-32 Posted January 24, 2017 DOI: 10.3928/01477447-20161013-02 Abstract The use of opioids among patients with workers’ compensation claims is associated with tremendous costs, especially for patients who undergo spinal surgery. This study compared return-to-work rates after single-level cervical fusion for degenerative disk disease […]

Bed rest for back pain? A little bit will do you

  Published: February, 2015 Bed rest, once a key part of treating back pain, has a limited role in healing sore backs. In very small doses, bed rest can give you a break when standing or sitting causes severe pain. Too much may make back pain worse. Here is how to do bed rest “right.” […]

The symptomatic and functional effects of manual physical therapy on plantar heel pain: a systematic review.

J Man Manip Ther. 2017 Feb;25(1):3-10. doi: 10.1080/10669817.2015.1106818. Epub 2016 Apr 26. Mischke JJ1, Jayaseelan DJ2, Sault JD3, Emerson Kavchak AJ3. Author information Abstract OBJECTIVES: Plantar heel pain is common and can be severely disabling. Unfortunately, a gap in the literature exists regarding the optimal intervention for this painful condition. Consequently, a systematic review of the current literature regarding […]

Hip and Lumbar Spine Physical Examination Findings in People Presenting With Low Back Pain, With or Without Lower Extremity Pain

Authors: Heidi Prather, DO1, Abby Cheng, MD2, Karen Steger-May, MA3, Vaibhav Maheshwari, DO4, Linda Van Dillen, PT, PhD5 Study Design Prospective cohort study, cross-sectional design. Background The hip-spine syndrome is described in patients with known arthritis of the hip. This study describes the hip examination findings of people presenting with low back pain (LBP). Objectives […]

Acupuncture Useful for Migraine Prophylaxis

Pauline Anderson February 24, 2017 “True” acupuncture reduces migraine frequency, number of days with migraine, and pain intensity compared with “sham” acupuncture and being wait-listed for acupuncture, a randomized trial shows. These are some of the “several benefits” of acupuncture for patients with headache shown in this study, said author Fanrong Liang, MD, Acupuncture and […]

Can staying active help to prevent chronic pain? Physical activity affects pain modulation in older adults

Date: February 24, 2017 Source: Wolters Kluwer Health Summary: Older adults with higher levels of physical activity have pain modulation patterns that might help lower their risk of developing chronic pain, reports a study. Older adults with higher levels of physical activity have pain modulation patterns that might help lower their risk of developing chronic […]