A commonly used physiotherapeutic method for the treatment of urinary incontinence (UI) after radical prostatectomy (RP) is pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of PFMT by enhanced biofeedback using the 1h pad-weighing test. The following factors were taken into consideration in the analysis of PFMT effectiveness: the relevance of the patients’ age, time from RP, BMI, mental health, functional state, and depression. A total of 60 post-RP patients who underwent 10-week PFMT were studied. They were divided into groups: A (n = 20) and B (n = 20) (random division, time from RP: 2–6 weeks) and group C (time from RP > 6 weeks). Group B had enhanced training using EMG biofeedback. UI improved in all groups: A, p = 0.0000; B, p = 0.0000; and C, p = 0.0001. After the completion of PFMT, complete control over miction was achieved by 60% of the patients in group A, 85% in group B, and 45% in group C. There was no correlation between the results of PFMT efficacy and patients’ age, BMI, time from RP, mental health, functional state, and depression. PFMT is highly effective in UI treatment. The enhancement of PFMT by EMG biofeedback seems to increase the effectiveness of the therapy.

Lower back pain (LBP) is a common condition affecting primarily populations in developed countries, placing a significant burden on public health systems around the world. A high rate of pain recurrence increases the risk of developing a chronic syndrome and the occurrence of complex psychosocial and professional problems. Symptoms lasting longer than 12 weeks are associated with the risk of sleep problems, depression, and anxiety. In the 21st century, the development of knowledge about central sensitization (CS) to pain allowed for a better understanding of the pathomechanism of pain and the transformation of LBP into a chronic form. Patients with chronic severe pain often experience accompanying symptoms such as fatigue, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, appetite disorders, flatulence, dyspepsia, and dizziness—these are part of the picture of CS. The article presents a narrative, chronological review of reports covering the current state of knowledge on the possibility of assessing central sensitization and its impact on low back pain. The authors also attempt to answer the question posed in the title. CS can be seen as an excessive reactivity of nociceptive neurons in the central nervous system to normal or subthreshold afferent chronic stimuli in people with certain mental predispositions.

The aim of this study was to try to compare the effectiveness of manual therapy techniques in combination with stabilization techniques: the so-called Australian method and the Neurac method in relation to pain sensations and the level of kinesiophobia. A total of 69 people were examined, divided into three groups of 23 people each. The Visual Analogue Scale was used to assess the antalgic effect, and the Kinesiophobia Causes Scale questionnaire was used to assess the level of kinesiophobia. Patients improved over four weeks, during which they were assessed three times. The evaluation of the desired parameters was also performed over a 24-week period to assess long-term performance. Stabilization techniques are an effective extension of manual therapy techniques in patients with low back pain. People in the groups additionally improved in terms of stabilization techniques, which are characterized by a lower level of kinesiophobia. Its lowest level was found in the group additionally improved with the Neurac method. In the long-term study, the level of kinesiophobia in this group was still maintained at a reduced level. The use of stabilization techniques involving patients in action may significantly affect the level of kinesiophobia, and thus have a much wider effect than just pain reduction.

In order to determine the impact of a four-week cycle of Nordic Walking (NW) training on the physical fitness of people with chronic non-specific lower back pain and the impact of this form of activity on their self-assessment of health quality, the study included 80 men and women aged 29 to 63 years. The subjects were divided into two equal (40-person) groups: experimental and control. In both study groups the degree of disability in daily activities caused by back pain was assessed with the FFb-H-R questionnaire, the physical fitness was evaluated with the modified Fullerton test and the sense of health quality was assessed with the SF-36 questionnaire. The same tests were repeated after four weeks. In the experimental group NW training was applied between the two studies. During four weeks, 10 training units were carried out, and each training session lasted 60 min with a two-day break between each training. The four-week NW training resulted in a statistically significant sense of disability due to back pain (p < 0.001), significant improvement of physical fitness expressed by improvement in upper (p < 0.001) and lower (p < 0.01) body strength, upper and lower body flexibility (p < 0.001) and ability to walk a longer distance in a 6-min walk test (p < 0.001). The training participants also showed significant improvements in health quality in both physical (p < 0.001) and mental (p < 0.001) components. The four-week NW training has a positive impact on the physical fitness of men and women with chronic lower back pain. Participation in NW training also contributes to a significant reduction in the sense of disability caused by back pain and improvement in the self-assessment of health quality.

Tactile acuity is typically measured by a two-point discrimination test (TPD) and a two-point estimation task (TPE). In the back area, they are only conducted in the lumbar and cervical regions of the spine. Considering that such measurements have not been conducted in the sacral regions, the purpose of this study was to assess the inter- and intra-examiner reliability of the TPD and TPE at the level of the S3 segment. The study included 30 pain-free subjects aged 20–30 years. Tests were performed with a pair of stainless hardened digital calipers. The TPD was measured in two locations: 5 and 15 cm from the midline; for TPE both, points were located inside the measured area. Session 1 involved assessments by two examiners in 10-min intervals. Session 2 was measured by one examiner, at analogous intervals between tests. The TPD inter-rater reliability was excellent for mean measurements (ICC_3.2: 0.76–0.8; ICC_3.3: 0.8–0.92); the intra-rater reliability was excellent for mean measurements (ICC_2.2: 0.79–0.85; ICC_2.3: 0.82–0.86). The TPE inter-rater reliability was good to excellent for mean measurements (ICC_3.2: 0.65–0.92; ICC_3.3: 0.73–0.94); the intra-rater reliability for all studies (ICC_2.1, ICC_2.2, ICC_2.3) was excellent (0.85–0.89). Two measurements are sufficient to achieve good reliability (ICC ≥ 0.75), regardless of the assessed body side.

The aim of this study was to compare the condition of the pelvic floor in women who are involved in regular recreational horseback riding, with both physically active women as well as women not undertaking any recreational physical activity. Taking into account horseback riding and physical activity, 140 healthy women aged 17 to 61 were divided into three groups: women practicing horseback riding (WPHR) (46 persons), physically active women (PAW) (47 persons) and women not physically active (WNPA) (47 persons). The Australian Pelvic Floor Questionnaire (APFQ) was used to measure the extent of pelvic floor dysfunctions in women from all three groups. The lowest average values were found in the group of women practicing recreational horseback riding, and the highest in the group of women not physically active (95% CI: 0.61–1.15 vs. 0.87–1.44 —bladder scores; 0.82–1.32 vs. 1.24–1.8—bowel scores; 0.07–0.33 vs. 0.08–0.35—prolapse of reproductive organs scores; 0.4–1.07 vs. 0.49–1.3—sexual function). Statistically significant intergroup differences were recorded only for the bowel function rate (p = 0.021). The overall pelvic floor dysfunction rate in the WPHR group was lower when compared with both control groups (95% CI: 2.15–3.62 vs. 2.34–3.54 in women from PAW group and vs. 3.0–4.56 in women from WNPA group). Based on this study, it can be concluded that all of the pelvic floor related symptoms, their frequency, and severity levels do not qualify recreational horseback riding as being a risk factor for developing pelvic floor dysfunction in women.