Low back pain (LBP) is common in children and adolescents, and it is becoming a public health concern. In recent years there has been a considerable increase in research studies that examine the prevalence of LBP in this population, but studies exhibit great variability in the prevalence rates reported. The purpose of this research was to examine, by means of a meta-analytic investigation, the prevalence rates of LBP in children and adolescents.

Low back pain (LBP) in adolescents is associated with LBP in later years. In recent years treatments have been administered to adolescents for LBP, but it is not known which physical therapy treatment is the most efficacious. By means of a meta-analysis, the current study investigated the effectiveness of the physical therapy treatments for LBP in children and adolescents.

The Berg Balance Scale is the most widely used clinical scale used to assess balance performance in neurological conditions. Reliability is not an unalterable value of a scale across different applications, but is a property referring to the results obtained with the scale, not the instrument in itself. The results of a scale can vary depending on the context where it is applied and the characteristics of the participants, therefore the reliability coefficient should be reported in each study. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the reliability coefficients obtained in different applications of the test with the data at hand is the best method to examine how the reliability of a test scores varies. The objectives of this systematic revision are: To determine the mean of internal consistency, intra and interrater reliability of the Berg balance scale in the clinical, nonclinical and mixed populations, to determine the methodological and substantive characteristics and to propose a predictive model enabling researchers and clinicians to use it in the future to estimate the expected reliability based on the characteristics of the most relevant studies. The MEDLINE (Pubmed), EMBASE and CINAHL databases were searched from 1989 to 2015. Two reviewers independently selected empirical studies published in English or in Spanish that applied the Berg Balance Scale and reported any reliability coefficient. The 80 samples in the 65 studies reported any the Berg Balance Scale reliability estimate. Coefficient alpha ranged from 0.62 to .98, with a mean of 0.92. For intra-rater agreement, the mean intraclass correlation was ICC+=0.957, and for inter-rater agreement ICC+=0.97. The SD of the Berg Balance Scale scores presented statistically significant relationships with the coefficient alpha and with ICC (intra-rater). In addition, the clinical population and the institutionalized population presented statistically significant relationships with the coefficient alpha. The sample size and mean scale results were also statistically related to ICCs (intra-rater). The alpha coefficient and intra- and inter-rater agreement for Berg Balance Scale scores was very satisfactory. Several characteristics of the studies were statistically associated to the alpha coefficient and with intra-rater reliability.

Elbow arthropathy is characteristic in patients with hemophilia. Arthropathy is manifested by decreased range of motion, pain, loss of strength and muscular atrophy, and axial changes. The objective is to evaluate the safety of two physiotherapy programs combining manual therapy and home exercises with educational sessions in patients with hemophilic elbow arthropathy. This is a randomized study with 27 patients with elbow hemophilic arthropathy with a mean age of 34.48 (SD: 12.99) years, were randomised to Manual Therapy group, educational group and control group. The physiotherapy programmes were: manual therapy through joint traction, passive muscles stretching and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation; and educational sessions and daily home exercises. The study lasted for twelve weeks, with two sessions a week in manual therapy group and one session every two weeks with daily home exercises in educational group. The variables measured were range of motion of elbow, biceps strength, circumference of arm, and elbow pain. The treatment with manual therapy improved the circumference of arm, flexion elbow and elbow pain. Six months later, MT group still enjoyed improved. In the educational group there were improvements, but not significant, in the measured variables. Neither of the two physiotherapy interventions caused elbow hemarthrosis. The treatment with manual therapy improved the range of movement and circumference of arm, and lessened pain in hemophilic patients with chronic elbow arthropathy. No hemarthrosis was recorded during treatment or during the follow-up period. Larger randomized clinical trials are required to confirm the results of this study. ( NCT02198040 ). Registered 22 July 2014, retrospectively registered.

Preventive interventions improve healthy behaviours and they also increase knowledge regarding back care in children and adolescents, but studies exhibit great variability in their contents, duration and number of sessions, and in the assessment methods. The purpose of this study was to review the empirical evidence regarding preventive physiotherapy interventions for back care in children and adolescents, and to ascertain the most efficacious treatments, in what way and under which circumstances.