Physiospot CAM

Physiospot Redirect

All of our Physiospot blogs can now be found together at www.physiospot.com

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Following the migration of all our Physiopsot blogs into one location all the old feeds and email alerts have become inactive.  You will need to go to our new Physiospot site and sign up for your new updates.

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New Year, New Start!

With the expansion in the number of Physispot blogs available in 2007 it has become quite a large task to continually juggle them all and is not conducive to an effective service for our readers. We have therefore made the decision to amalgamate all the blogs into one place at www.physiospot.com.  Whilst you will be able to read all the  articles that have been selected as clinically relevant and posted we have developed separate areas of the site for research in different clinical areas. 

By making the management process more efficient not only will we be able to devote more time to actually posting articles but it will also provide a number of additional benefits:

• Each clinical area can be easily accessed from the navigation bar at the top of each page, no more flicking between different blogs.
• Articles can be tagged with more than one clinical area thereby adding more articles to each individual clinical area.
• The search function will search across all clinical areas so that you will be looking for what you need amongst all the articles posted.
• More easily keep up-to-date with recent additions in multiple clinicl areas by freely subscribing to one or more of our update options.
• Authors can easily work in more than one clinical area which may be useful for their own professional development and evidence based practice.

There is one small inconvenience to our readers which can be easily overcome.  As of today the email alerts and feeds for all the old physispot blogs will cease to function.  You will need to sign up again to receive the update alerts that you are interested in.  Go to the update options page to sign up now for your RSS feed and Email Alerts.  You can also download our toolbar to receive updates straight to your desktop and follow us on Twitter from this page.

We hope that all our readers are happy with the developments and that you enjoy the site and continue to find it useful, had we not done this we may not have been able to carry on with the juggling!  Visit the new site at www.physiospot.com

A randomized controlled trial of acupuncture added to usual treatment for fibromyalgia.

Targino RA, Imamura M, Kaziyama HH, Souza LP, Hsing WT, Furlan AD, Imamura ST, Azevedo Neto RS

This study evaluated the effectiveness of acupuncture for fibromyalgia. Fifty-eight women with fibromyalgia were allocated randomly to receive either acupuncture together with tricyclic antidepressants and exercise or tricyclic antidepressants and exercise only. At the end of 20 sessions, patients who received acupuncture were significantly better than the control group in all measures of pain and in 5 of the SF-36 subscales. After 6 months, the acupuncture group was significantly better than the control group in numbers of tender points, mean pressure pain threshold at the 18 tender points and 3 subscales of SF-36. After one year, the acupuncture group showed significance in one subscale of the SF-36; at 2 years there were no significant differences in any outcome measures.

Addition of acupuncture to usual treatments for fibromyalgia may be beneficial for pain and quality of life for 3 months after the end of treatment.

Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2008, 40(7), 582-8

Link to Abstract

Tension neck syndrome treated by acupuncture combined with physiotherapy: A comparative clinical trial (pilot study).

França DL, Senna-Fernandes V, Cortez CM, Jackson MN, Bernardo-Filho M, Guimarães MA

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of acupuncture combined with physiotherapy in comparison with acupuncture and physiotherapy performed alone in different parameters; pain intensity, muscle tension, functional disability and muscle strength in the treatment of tension neck syndrome (TNS). Forty-six patients with TNS were allocated into three groups: Group-1 received physiotherapy (therapeutic exercises) combined with acupuncture; Group-2, acupuncture alone, and Group-3, physiotherapy alone; over a period of 10 weeks, with one or two sessions weekly.  All groups showed significant improvement  in outcome measures after 10 weeks of treatment and after 6 months of follow-up. After 6 months of follow-up, the improvements of all groups were maintained.

This research suggests that acupuncture effect may facilitate and/or enhance physiotherapy performance in musculoskeletal rehabilitation for tension neck syndrome.

Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 2008, 16(5), 268-77

Link to Abstract

Tai Chi improves balance and mobility in people with Parkinson disease

Madeleine E. Hackney, Gammon M. Earhart

This pilot study examines the effects of Tai Chi on balance, gait and mobility in people with Parkinson disease (PD). Thirty-three people with PD were randomly assigned to either a Tai Chi group or a control group. The Tai Chi group participated in 20 1-h long training sessions completed within 10–13 weeks; whereas, the control group had two testing sessions between 10 and 13 weeks apart without interposed training. The Tai Chi group improved more than the control group on the Berg Balance Scale, UPDRS, Timed Up and Go, tandem stance test, six-minute walk, and backward walking. Neither group improved in forward walking or the one leg stance test. All Tai Chi participants reported satisfaction with the program and improvements in well-being.

Tai Chi appears to be an appropriate, safe and effective form of exercise for some individuals with mild–moderately severe PD.

Gait & Posture, 2008, 28(3), 456-460

Link to Abstract

Massage Reduces Pain Perception and Hyperalgesia in Experimental Muscle Pain: A Randomized, Controlled Trial

Laura A. Frey Law, Stephanie Evans, Jill Knudtson, Steven Nus, Kerri Scholl, Kathleen A. Sluka

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of massage on mechanical hyperalgesia and perceived pain using delayed onset muscle soreness as an endogenous model of myalgia. The participants (no-treatment control, superficial touch, or deep-tissue massage groups) performed eccentric wrist extension exercises at visit 1 to induce DOMS 48 hours later at visit 2. Pain, assessed using VAS and PPT were measured at baseline, after exercise, before treatment, and after treatment. Deep massage decreased pain during muscle stretch. Mechanical hyperalgesia was reduced after both the deep massage and superficial touch groups relative to control.

This randomized, controlled trial suggests that massage is capable of reducing myalgia symptoms by approximately 25% to 50%, varying with assessment technique. Thus, potential analgesia may depend on the pain assessment used. This information may assist clinicians in determining conservative treatment options for patients with myalgia.

The Journal of Pain, 9(8), 714-721

Link to Abstract

Comparison of a targeted and general massage protocol on strength, function, and symptoms associated with carpal tunnel syndrome: a randomized pilot study.

Moraska A, Chandler C, Edmiston-Schaetzel A, Franklin G, Calenda EL, Enebo B

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of two distinct massage therapy protocols on strength, function, and symptoms associated with CTS. 27 subjects with a clinical diagnosis of CTS were randomly assigned to receive 6 weeks of twice-weekly massage consisting of either a general (GM) or CTS-targeted (TM) massage treatment program. Both GM and TM treatments resulted in an improvement of subjective measures associated with CTS, but improvement in grip strength was only detected with the TM protocol.

Massage therapy may be a practical conservative intervention for compression neuropathies, such as CTS, although additional research is needed.

Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine,2008, 14(3), 259-67

Link to Abstract

Test Post

Test Post

Tai chi for osteoarthritis: a systematic review.

Lee MS, Pittler MH, Ernst E

The aim of this study was to evaluate data from controlled clinical trials testing the effectiveness of tai chi for treating osteoarthritis. All controlled trials of tai chi for patients with osteoarthritis were considered for inclusion. Five randomised clinical trials (RCTs) and seven non-randomised controlled clinical trials (CCTs) met all inclusion criteria. Five RCTs assessed the effectiveness of tai chi on pain of osteoarthritis (OA). Two RCTs suggested significant pain reduction compared to routine treatment and an attention control program in knee OA. Three RCTs did not report significant pain reduction on multiple sites pain. Four RCTs tested tai chi for physical functions. Two of these RCTs suggested improvement of physical function on activity of daily living compared to routine treatment or wait-list control, whilst two other RCTs failed to do so.

There is some encouraging evidence suggesting that tai chi may be effective for pain control in patients with knee OA. However, the evidence is not convincing for pain reduction or improvement of physical function. Future RCTs should assess larger patient samples for longer treatment periods and use appropriate controls.

Clinical Rheumatology, 2008, 27(2), 211-8

Link to Abstract