The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that nearly 25% of people will suffer from physical disability owing to the bone and joint problems until 2050. The condition of patients with this type of difficulty could be improved by increasing positive self-efficacy and instigating suitable medical treatment to implement self-efficacy for functional ability (SEFA) and physical functional ability self-care. In this study, we aim to evaluate the influence of social support on SEFA in patients after total hip arthroplasty. This cross-sectional study used structural questionnaires, telephone appointments, and data collection to obtain patient characteristics, such as gender, age, educational level, and marital status. Questionnaires about social support and self-efficacy for functional ability (SEFA) were sent to 200 patients at 3 months following a primary total hip replacement from September 2011 to December 2014. Factor analysis was used to categorize the dimensions of social support; the t test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and correlation analysis were applied to screen factors influencing SEFA. Multiple regression analysis was employed to ascertain the relationships between patient characteristics, social support, and SEFA. In total, 134 patients responded to the questionnaires. Lower SEFA scores were observed in patients of an older age, unmarried patients, and those with a low level of education. Correlation analysis showed that emotional information and appraisal support, instrumental support, and SEFA were positively correlated. Multiple regression analysis was applied to ascertain the relationships between patient characteristics, social support, and SEFA. We identified significant coefficient values of − 0.187 for age, 5.344 for emotional information and appraisal support, and 1.653 for instrumental support. The results of this study demonstrated that in patients undergoing primary hip replacement, positive impacts on SEFA were observed in relation to emotional information, appraisal support and instrumental support. The results indicated that enhancing emotional information and appraisal support could improve a patient’s self-efficacy for functional ability.

The dose-dependent effects of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell-conditioned medium (ADSC-CM) were compared with those of shockwave (SW) therapy in the treatment of early osteoarthritis (OA). Anterior cruciate ligament transaction (ACLT) with medial meniscectomy (MMx) was performed in rats divided into sham, OA, SW, CM1 (intra-articular injection of 100 μL ADSC-CM into knee OA), and CM2 (intra-articular injection of 200 μL ADSC-CM) groups. Cartilage grading, grading of synovium changes, and specific molecular analysis by immunohistochemistry staining were performed. The OARSI and synovitis scores of CM2 and SW group were significantly decreased compared with those of the OA group (p < 0.05). The inflammatory markers interleukin 1β, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling and matrix metalloproteinase 13 were significantly reduced in the CM2 group compared to those in the SW and CM1 groups (p < 0.001). Cartilage repair markers (type II collagen and SRY-box transcription factor 9, SOX9) expression were significantly higher in the CM2 group than in the other treatment groups (p < 0.001; p < 0.05). Furthermore, inflammation-induced growth factors such as bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2), BMP5, and BMP6 were significantly reduced in the treatment groups, and the CM2 group showed the best results among the treatments (p < 0.05). In conclusion, ADSC-CM and SW ameliorated the expression of inflammatory cytokines and inflammation-induced BMPs to protect the articular cartilage of the OA joint.

Early recovery from muscular injury is crucial for elite athletes. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been reported to be beneficial in terms of accelerating cell recovery and tissue repair, which are considered to be helpful for eliminating fatigue and recovering stamina. This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of HBOT for exercise-related muscular injury. Forty-one athletes with exercise-related muscular injuries were recruited and randomized into an HBOT group and a control group. All participants received 10 sessions of either HBOT or placebo treatment. The brief pain inventory (BPI) was completed, and serum samples were analyzed. Data were collected before treatment (T1), at the end of the fifth treatment session (T2), at the end of the tenth treatment session (T3), and two weeks after T3 (T4). At T3, the HBOT group showed prominent reductions in the levels of creatine phosphokinase (CK), glutamic oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), and myoglobin (MB), which lasted until T4. However, the control group did not present any statistical differences in levels from T1 to T4. In terms of pain intensity and interference, the HBOT group showed significant improvements at T3, while no improvements were observed in the control group. In conclusion, HBOT facilitates the early recovery of exercise-related muscular injury. This trial is registered with ISRCTN17817041.

Background. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) had been proved to be beneficial in calcific tendinosis; however, the treatment efficacy in noncalcific tendinosis of rotator cuff still remains controversial. The present study was to compare the outcomes ESWT among the noncalcific rotator cuff tendinosis and different types of calcific tendinosis on the basis of similar shoulder functional status. Methods. A retrospective, comparative study was conducted with the enrollment of 20 patients in each group through propensity score matching in a 1:1:1 ratio from 291 patients who underwent single ESWT for painful shoulder tendinosis. The patients were divided into three groups which included noncalcified tendinosis (NCTS), type I dense calcified tendinosis of shoulder (DCTS), and type II and type III translucent calcified tendinosis of shoulder (TCTS) according to Gartner and Heyer classification. The clinical evaluation included the subjective pain score with visual analog scale (VAS) and functional outcome with Constant and Murley score (CMS). Results. Twelve months after ESWT, the VAS in TCTS (1.5 ± 2.48) was statistically significant lower than NCTS (2.9 ± 2.86) and DCTS (3.8 ± 2.46) (p=.011). For the functional outcome, the overall CMS was superior in TCTS than the NCTS and DCTS (86.9 ± 19.7 versus 78.7 ± 18.3 and 71.1 ± 17.8, p=.014). Besides, the subscales of pain score, strength, and range of motion in TCTS improved significantly better than NCTS and DCTS. 70% of patients were complaint-free in TCTS group, which was higher than the NCTS group (15%) and DCTS group (25%) (p<0.05). Conclusion. The present study indicated that the high-dose ESWT posed superior clinical efficacy in type II/III calcification tendinosis rather than type I calcification and noncalcific shoulder tendinosis.