NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Advice is considered an effective treatment for acute low back pain (LBP), but neither clinical trials nor guidelines include adequate detail on what this advice should be, or how doctors should deliver it, according to a new review. And half of the advice topics included in guidelines were discordant with evidence from…
Essential Collaboration: Rheumatologists & PTs Must Work Together
The importance of rheumatologists and physical therapists (PTs) working together for patients cannot be understated. Carol Oatis, PT, PhD, says, “Rheumatologists and PTs have very similar goals. … Collaboration is essential for optimal outcomes.”…
Being Active May Reduce Risk of Chronic Low Back Pain
(Reuters Health)—Regularly engaging in physical activity, from walking to intense exercise, may help to reduce the risk of chronic low back pain by, as much as 16%, according to a new review of previous studies. In the past, it hasn’t been clear whether physical activity staves off low back pain, or people without back pain…
Step by Step: Pedometers Increase Exercise & Help RA Patients with Fatigue
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis need a way to manage their fatigue outside of the standard treatment regime, says Patti Katz, PhD. “We found that increasing physical activity [by using a pedometer] did indeed make a difference in peoples’ fatigue level. … And it doesn’t make them hurt more.”…
‘Booster Sessions’ May Help Older Adults Stick with Arthritis Exercises
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—”Booster sessions” with a physiotherapist help older adults with osteoarthritis keep doing their exercises, a new systematic review and meta-analysis suggests. “There is strong evidence for the benefits of exercise for people with osteoarthritis or chronic low back pain. However, multiple studies have shown adherence to exercise declines over time, and the…
Does Telephone Coaching Enhance Physical Activity Programs?
Health coaching by telephone is increasingly being used to assist in chronic disease self-management. A recent study examined the benefits of simultaneous health coaching via telephone as an addition to a physiotherapist-prescribed home-based physical activity program for patients with knee OA. Although participants receiving additional coaching had a short-term improvement in adherence, changes in pain and function did not differ between the study’s groups at six months…
Exercise Therapy May Take the ‘Tired’ Out of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
A recent review has expanded the current thinking about the benefits of exercise therapy for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Study participants experienced improved sleep, physical function and self-perceived general health…
Tendinitis & Other Weight Training-Related Injuries
With the increased popularity of CrossFit and other weight-training sports, a recent review examined the risk of injury associated with these activities. Using data from mostly retrospective studies, researchers determined that weight-training sports have a lower risk of injury than team sports, with bodybuilding having the lowest injury rate…
Exercise Therapy Recommended to Manage Knee Osteoarthritis
The benefits of exercise therapy for individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA) are well known. The ACR strongly recommends both aquatic exercise and land-based aerobic and resistance exercise for managing knee OA.1 A recent Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis concluded that high-quality evidence supports the use of exercise to reduce pain and improve physical function and…
Running Barefoot May Protect Against Some Musculoskeletal Injuries
Running barefoot may conjure images of summer and childhood, but since Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia set a world record running barefoot in the marathon in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome (Olympic gold medal in a world-record 2:15:16.2), many runners have adopted the style. A recent study found that running barefoot may be associated with significantly fewer overall musculoskeletal injuries than running shod…