Content - Volume 36, Issue 6

Objective: To develop a self-report questionnaire for patients with degenerative disorders of the foot to evaluate the usability of their orthopaedic shoes, and to assess the reproducibility and responsiveness of the instrument. Design: Development of the Questionnaire for Usability Evaluation of orthopaedic shoes was based on a literature search, structured expert interviews and a r ...

Objective: To assess foot pain and its correlation with walking ability in diabetic patients. Subjects: Two groups of type 2 diabetic patients (30 with symptomatic neuropathy and 30 without symptomatic neuropathy) and 30 healthy volunteers were studied. Methods: Pain was assessed by the pain sub-scale of the Foot Function Index. Internal consistency for the pain sub-scale was ...

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of 3 different health promotion exercise programs for work-related shoulder and neck pain. Design: Comparative study design. Subjects: A total of 178 employees were recruited and grouped. Methods: Those in the "Self-exercise group" (n = 56) were given a lecture about the exercise program and then performed the program by the ...

Objective: The Baking Tray Task is a comprehensible, simple-to-perform test for use in assessing unilateral neglect. The aim of this study was to validate further its use with stroke patients. Methods: The Baking Tray Task was compared with 2 versions of the Behaviour Inattention Test and a test for personal neglect. A total of 270 patients were subjected to a 3-item version of the B ...

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of group rehabilitation and individually dosed rehabilitation in treating chronic low back pain. Design: Institutional rehabilitation intervention in 2 non-randomized groups with a 6-month post-intervention follow-up. Subjects: Persons with chronic low back pain: 64 group-rehabilitated and 66 individually rehabilitated. Methods: T ...

Objective: To develop and validate a cross-cultural version of the Manniche Low Back Pain Rating Scale (MRS) for use in German-speaking low back pain patients. Background: Clinical intervention research in back pain would be enormously facilitated if a small number of relevant, patient-centred questionnaires became internationally used. MRS seems to be particularly suitable for cross ...

Objective: To compare the outcome of muscle strength with manual muscle strength testing grip and pinch strength measurements and a dynamometer which allows for measurements of the intrinsic muscles of the hand in isolation (the Rotterdam Intrinsic Hand Myometer, RIHM). Methods: Thirty-four patients more than 2 years after ulnar and/or median nerve injury. Muscle strength was evaluat ...

Objective: To evaluate the effects of body awareness therapy combined with qigong for patients with fibromyalgia. Design: A controlled randomized pilot study. Subjects: Thirty-six female patients with fibromyalgia were randomized to either qigong plus body awareness therapy (n = 19) or a control group (n = 17). Methods: The programme was conducted once a w ...