This study investigated the effect of Kinesio taping on the functionality, pain, range of motion (ROM), and muscle strength in patients with knee osteoarthritis compared with a placebo Kinesio tape (KT) application. Forty-two consecutive patients were randomized to a KT group and a placebo taping group. The assessments were performed at baseline, after the initial KT application, the third KT application, and 1 month later. The functional status of patients was evaluated using the Aggregated Locomotor Function score and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis scale. Pain level, muscle strength, and active ROM were measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), a handheld dynamometer, and digital goniometer, respectively. Patients receiving the KT application demonstrated large decrease in VAS activity and walking task scores compared with the placebo taping group from the initial taping application to after the third taping application (P = 0.009 and P < 0.001, respectively) to the 1-month follow-up (P = 0.007 and P < 0.001, respectively). The KT group exhibited short-term improvement in VAS night and knee-flexion ROM after the 1-month follow-up (P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in outcome measures in ROM and muscle strength between 2 groups. This study demonstrates that Kinesio taping resulted in superior short-term effects on walking task, pain, and knee-flexion ROM compared with placebo taping in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Purpose: Office workers are commonly exposed to work-related musculoskeletal pain. This study investigated the individual and work-related risk factors linked to musculoskeletal pain and pain-related disability among Turkish office workers who work using computers. Materials and Methods: One-hundred-fifty office workers were included. Data was collected using the online survey with a combination of the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Neck Disability Index (NDI), Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand questionnaire short form (Q-DASH). The participants were divided into four subgroups: no pain (n=26), lower back pain (n=37), neck pain (n=49) and upper extremity pain (n=38). Results: There were differences between subgroups in terms of condition that feet touch the floor and condition that keyboard, mouse, and wrist are in the straight line (p=0.013 and p=0.025, respectively). The working year was correlated with the ODI score (ρ=0.802, p=0.041). There was also a significant correlation between the NDI score and working hours (ρ=0.415, p=0.003), while Q-DASH was correlated with body mass index and working years (ρ=0.406, p=0.014, and ρ=0.327, p=0.043, respectively). Conclusions: The pain-related disability was associated with various risk factors such as physical inactivity, body mass index, working hours, working years, and workplace ergonomics in the office workers. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04160585..

Objectives: To compare the different stretching techniques, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching and static stretching, in patients with elbow stiffness after a treated elbow fracture. Design: Randomized-controlled, single-blind study. Setting: Department of physiotherapy and rehabilitation. Subjects: Forty patients with posttraumatic elbow stiffness (24 women; mean age, 41.34 ± 7.57 years). Intervention: PNF stretching group ( n = 20), hold-relax PNF stretching combined with a structured exercise programme (two days per week for six weeks); static stretching group ( n = 20), static stretching combined with a structured exercise programme (two days per week for six weeks). Main measures: The primary outcome is the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH). The secondary outcomes are active range of motion (AROM), visual analogue scale (VAS), Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia, Short Form-12 and Global Rating of Change. Participants were assessed at baseline, after a six-week intervention period and one-month later (follow-up). Results: After treatment, improvement in the mean DASH score was slightly better in the PNF stretching group (8.66 ± 6.15) compared with the static stretching group (19.25 ± 10.30) ( p = 0.03). The overall group-by-time interaction for the 2 × 3 mixed-model analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was also significant for elbow flexion AROM (mean change for PNF stretching group; static stretching group; 41.10, 34.42, p = 0.04), VAS-rest (–1.31, –1.08, p = 0.03) and VAS-activity (–3.78, –3.47, p = 0.01) in favour of PNF stretching group. The other outcomes did not differ significantly between the two groups. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that the structured exercise programme combined with PNF stretching might be effective in patients with posttraumatic elbow stiffness with regard to improving function, elbow flexion AROM, pain at rest and during activity.

BACKGROUND: Studies have emphasized the importance of the presence of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in patients with rotator cuff pathologies and the high frequency of MTrPs in rotator cuff muscles. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the effectiveness of the tr

Identifying the barriers to physical activity (PA) is important for comprehensive management strategies to decrease physical inactivity. This study aimed to translate and cross-culturally adapt the Self-Perceived Barriers for Physical Activity Scale (SPBPA) into Turkish and investigate its psychometric properties. One-hundred fifty-two young and middle-aged adults (mean age of 33.3 ± 12.66 years) were included. Within a 5-to-15-day period after the first assessment, the participants completed the Turkish version of SPBPA (SPBPA-T) to evaluate test-retest reliability. Cronbach’s alpha (α) was used to assess internal consistency. The correlation between the SPBPA-T and Physical Activity Barriers Questionnaire (PABQ) and Short Form-12 (SF-12) was determined to check the validity. The SPBPA-T had a strong internal consistency (α = .83) and test-retest reliability (ICC_2,1 = .90). There was a strong correlation between PABQ and SPBPA-T (r = 0.709; p < .0001), indicating strong construct validity. The convergent validity of SPBPA-T was confirmed with the mental component of SF-12 (r = −.228; p < .0001). There was no floor or ceiling effect. The questionnaire had a 1.083 SEM value and its MDC was 3.00 points. The SPBPA-T is semantically and linguistically adequate and has strong internal validity and test-retest reliability to determine the self-perceived barriers to PA among Turkish-speaking young adults.