Aim: In this study, the effects of the addiction level of smartphone use in university students on the range of motion and proprioception of the dominant hand, wrist range of motion (ROM), and thumb ROM were investigated. Material and Methods: Wrist and thumb ROMs were measured with a manual goniometer with a sensitivity of 1 degree, and hand grip strength was measured with a hand grip dynamometer in a total of 100 volunteer university students with a mean age of 18-25. Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Form (SAS-SF) and Patient Rated Wrist and Hand Evaluation (PRWHE) questionnaire were applied to the students. Statistical analyzes were made using the SPSS 25 program. Results: The students’ usage time of smartphones and addiction levels do not affect the hand grip strength; the increase in smartphone addiction statistically correlates with the right thumb flexion (0.016) and abduction ROMs (0.015), statistically correlated with increased pain level in daily life and statistically correlated with the decrease of the wrist radial deviation ROM (0.009). As the duration of smartphone use increases, the error rate in right thumb abduction proprioception statistically increases (0.027). In addition, we determined the statistically correlations in both thumb flexion and abduction movements. Conclusion: We determined that the excessive usage of smartphones affects the ROM of thumb flexion and abduction, the ROM of wrist radial deviation, and the proprioception of thumb abduction, and it does not affect the hand grip strength. The findings of our research will be a source for future studies.

Background/Objectives: Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a non-progressive clinical condition characterized by secondary issues, including speech impairments. Our study aims to evaluate the volumes of brain areas related to speech in patients diagnosed with CP between the ages of 0–17. Methods: this study includes the images of 84 children: 42 in the control group who applied to the hospital between the specified dates and were reported as healthy by MRI from the patient records, and 42 patients with CP. Results: in the CP group, white and gray matter, cerebrum, cerebellum, thalamus, lobus frontalis, lobus temporalis, lobus parietalis, lobus insularis, gyrus cinguli, and nuclei basales volumes were observed to decrease statistically significantly compared to the control group (p ˂ 0.001). Conclusions: we found a significant decrease in the volumes of speech-related brain areas in CP patients, indicating that CP can significantly impact the brain’s speech-related regions.

Earthquakes cause severe destruction in the region where they occur. Children and adolescents are the group most affected group by earthquakes, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is most common in this group. The age-related increase in Grip Strength varies between childhood and early adolescence. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Hand Grip and Hand Measurements of children exposed to the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake on February 6, 2023. The “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Response Scale for Children” was administered to 116 children who in children between the ages of 8 and 12 groups, and consent was obtained from the participants. Morphometric measurements of the hands of the children were measured with a digital caliper. Children’s hand Grip Strength measurements were made by using a digital hand dynamometer. The analysis of study data was performed with the SPSS (Statistical Program in Social Sciences) 25 software. Positive and statistically significant relationships were detected between right and left-hand Grip Strength and right and left-hand measurements of females and males (p < 0.05). Statistically significant and negative relationships were detected between PTSD and right and left-hand Grip Strength and right and left-hand measurements in females and males (p < 0.05).In the present study, it was detected that as post-traumatic stress disorder increases, hand Grip Strength decreases. We think that these findings will guide future prospective studies.

Background: Dry needling (DN) and Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) are common in calcaneal epin treatment. Objective: The aim of the study was to compare the effects of both treatments on proprioception, balance, pain, and functional status. Methods: 90 patients which consist of 45 patients as DN + self stretching and 45 patients as ESWT + self stretching. Patients in each group were treated 1 session per week for 4 weeks. Assessments of 15° ankle dorsiflexion and plantar flexion proprioception, one leg standing test (OLST), foot function index (FFI), visual analog scale (VAS) (first step, resting, activity), quality of life scale (SF-36) were performed. The outcomes were recorded at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 4 weeks after the post-treatment. Results: Statistically significant differences were determined in VAS (resting, first step, activity) and FFI values in both treatment methods (p < 0.05). In OLST, SF-36, and FFI evaluations, DN was statistically more effective than the ESWT method (p < 0.001). In the 15° proprioception evaluations, a significant difference was observed in the patient's ankle in both methods, while the DN method is more effective in the indicated stages of evaluation. Conclusions: Both methods applied to epin calcanei patients were effective, but the DN method is a more effective treatment method than the ESWT method in terms of balance, proprioception, foot function, and quality of life.

OBJECTIVE: The study aims to determine the success of physiotherapy intern students in treating patients with shoulder disabilities and to investigate the relationship between this competence and their knowledge of upper extremity anatomy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 48 intern students were taken to the upper extremity anatomy exam. 20 students scored below 45 points formed Group 1, 28 students scored above 45 points formed Group 2. Standard finger ladder and wand exercises were applied to 48 patients 5 weekly sessions for 4 weeks. Patients were also taught home exercises to continue until the follow-up sessions. VAS (rest, activity, sleep), shoulder range of motion (ROM), SF-36 (health survey questionnaire), the disability of the arm, shoulder, and hand (DASH), and patient satisfaction questionnaire (PSQ-18) were performed pre-treatment, post-treatment (PostT), and 4 weeks after the treatment (C). RESULTS: In the short term, statistically significant improvement has been determined in VAS, ROM, and DASH in patients in group 2. In the long term, there was a statistically significant improvement in patients in both groups and no intergroup superiority. There was a statistically significant increase in SF-36 in the short and long periods in patients in Group 2, while no such increase was observed in Group 1. In PSQ-18, patients in both groups showed statistically significant satisfaction, with no significant differences between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Adequate knowledge of upper extremity anatomy of physiotherapy intern students is effective in achieving short-term treatment success. In the long term, patients' regular continuation of home exercises reduces the lack of treatment quality due to lack of anatomy knowledge.

The study aimed to investigate the short-term effects of radial nerve self-mobilization [RNSM], manual therapy [MT], and extracorporeal shock wave therapy [ESWT] on pain, pain-free grip strength, functional status, and patient satisfaction in patients with Lateral Epicondylitis [LE] and to determine the superiority of these methods to each other. 48 patients diagnosed with LE were included in the study and were randomly divided into three groups. RNSM was applied to all patients as a home program. The first group [n=16] received only the RNSM as a home program, the MT group [n=16] received MT combined with RNSM, and the ESWT group [n=16] received ESWT combined with RNSM. The RNSM was applied five days per week, and the MT and ESWT for two sessions per week for three weeks. Pain severity, pain-free handgrip strength, functionality levels, and patient satisfaction were evaluated before and after three weeks of treatment. The pain level significantly decreased, and handgrip strength and functionality increased in all groups after three weeks [p<0.001]. In comparison between the groups, the decrease in pain level, the increase in maximum grip strength, and patients' overall satisfaction scores were found to be higher in the MT group than in the ESWT, and only the RNSM groups [p<0.05]. MT application combined with radial nerve self-mobilization exercises in the treatment of LE appears to be more effective.