Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy

BACKGROUND: Vaginal manometry is regarded as an objective method to assess pelvic floor muscles (PFM) function and can measure several variables during contraction. OBJECTIVE: To determine which variables could differentiate women with/without a weak/strong PFM contraction and determine their cut-off points. METHODS: This is a diagnostic accuracy study performed on 156 women with a mean age of 40.4 (SD, 15.9) years. The reference test was vaginal palpation and the index test was vaginal manometry (Peritron™ manometer)...

BACKGROUND: The Glittre Activities of Daily Living (Glittre-ADL) test without backpack was recently validated to assess the functional capacity of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) OBJECTIVE: To understand the perceptions of people with COPD about the Glittre-ADL test with and without backpack and the possible similarities with their activities of daily living (ADLs). METHODS: Participants performed 2 Glittre-ADL tests with a backpack (visit 1)...

BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of disability globally. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have been developed in hopes of encouraging evidence-based care for LBP. However, poor quality of trials that underpin CPGs can lead to misleading recommendations for LBP. OBJECTIVES: To categorize the comparator used in trials included in the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) LBP CPG and describe the proportion and association of suboptimal comparators with NICE recommendation...

BACKGROUND: The validity of the ULTT is unclear, due to heterogeneity of test procedures and variability in the definition of a positive test OBJECTIVE: To evaluate test procedures and positive diagnostic criteria for the upper limb tension test (ULTT) in diagnostic test accuracy studies. METHODS: A systematic review of diagnostic accuracy studies was performed. We conducted a search of the DiTA (Diagnostic Test Accuracy) database and selected primary studies evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of the ULTT...

BACKGROUND: Individuals with Parkinson's disease present arm swing alterations that can adversely affect their locomotion. OBJECTIVE: To identify differences in arm swing asymmetry (ASA) between individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) and healthy individuals and to investigate the relationship between ASA, temporal-spatial gait parameters, and disease progression. METHODS: A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost up to February 2023...

BACKGROUND: Individuals with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (USCP) often show difficulties using their hands during activities of daily living. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the factors that interfere with hand use during bimanual activities in children and adolescents with USCP. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study with 102 children and adolescents with USCP, aged 6 to 18 years. We collected information with the caregivers about the classification of the child's manual ability, according to the Manual Ability Classification System (MACS); child's age; side of the involvement; Children's Hand-Use Experience Questionnaire- CHEQ2...

OBJECTIVE: To explore how causal beliefs regarding non-specific low back pain (LBP) have been quantitatively investigated. METHODS: A scoping review based on the guidelines by the JBI (former Joanna Briggs Institute) was conducted. We searched Medline, Embase, Psychinfo, and CINAHL for relevant studies and included peer-reviewed original articles that measured causal beliefs about non-specific LBP among adults and reported results separate from other belief domains...

BACKGROUND: Fear-avoidance variables are present in patients with musculoskeletal pain conditions, such as chronic low back pain (CLBP) and Achilles tendinopathy (AT) and can lead to reduced function and recovery. It is unknown how these variables relate in populations with different etiologies but similar pain provocation mechanisms. OBJECTIVE: To compare kinesiophobia, pain catastrophizing, and disability between these two groups. METHODS: Patients with CLBP and those with AT were included...

BACKGROUND: The biomedical understanding of chronic musculoskeletal pain endorses a linear relationship between noxious stimuli and pain, and is often dualist or reductionist. Although the biopsychosocial approach is an important advancement, it has a limited theoretical foundation. As such, it tends to be misinterpreted in manners that lead to artificial boundaries between the biological, psychological, and social, with fragmented and polarized clinical applications. OBJECTIVE: We present an ecological-enactive approach to complement the biopsychosocial model...

BACKGROUND: Understanding the care pathway is essential to identify how to effectively treat spinal disorders. However, there is no specific data on the pathway of these individuals in the Health Care Networks (HCN) in Brazil. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the pathway of individuals with non-specific spinal disorders (NSD) in the HCN in the Federal District, Brazil, and verify the interventions adopted, and to test whether sociodemographic and clinical variables predict the number of imaging tests, prescribed medication, and the first HCN access...

BACKGROUND: In physical therapy practice patients and therapists exchange their perspectives on musculoskeletal health problems and their meaning for both of them. However, literature indicates that physical therapists find it difficult to enquire about the patients' values during clinical encounters. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to gain deeper insight into the perspectives of physical therapists about patient values. DESIGN: Explorative qualitative focus group study...

BACKGROUND: Habitual physical activity (HPA) can be used as a non-pharmacological strategy to prevent and control chronic diseases, as well as playing a role in minimizing healthcare costs. OBJECTIVE: To verify the impact of HPA on healthcare costs at different levels of care, over 24 months, in an adult population with cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including individuals with or without comorbidities. METHODS: Two-hundred and seventy-eight adults with CVD, aged between 30 and 65 years, participated in the study...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Prevalence of pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) and its relationship with anxiety in a population undergoing physical therapy treatment in Rehabilitation Centers seems to have been little investigated in the literature. OBJECTIVE: 1) to investigate the prevalence of PFD, anxiety, depression; 2) to assess quality of life (QoL) in patients undergoing physical therapy in a Rehabilitation Center, 3) to compare the results by sex; and 4) to assess the relationship between PFD and anxiety, depression, and QoL...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Exercise is an effective intervention for knee osteoarthritis (OA), and unsupervised exercise programs should be a common adjunct to most treatments. However, it is unknown if current clinical trials are capturing information regarding adherence. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the extent and quality of reporting of unsupervised exercise adherence in clinical trials for knee OA. METHODS: Reviewers searched five databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Medline (OVID), EMBASE and Cochrane)...

BACKGROUND: The number of researchers and clinicians using movement-evoked pain and sensitivity to movement-evoked pain to assess shoulder pain has increased. However, the intrarater test-retest reliability of movement-evoked pain and sensitivity to movement-evoked pain in people with rotator cuff-related shoulder pain (RCRSP) is still unknown. OBJECTIVE: We examined the intrarater test-retest reliability of movement-evoked pain and sensitivity to movement-evoked pain in participants with RCRSP...

BACKGROUND: Foot-ankle exercises could improve pain and function of individuals with KOA and need to be tested. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether an 8-week foot-ankle muscle strengthening program is effective for individuals with KOA to reduce pain and improve function. METHODS: In this randomized controlled trial, individuals diagnosed with clinical and radiographic KOA were randomized into the intervention (supervised foot-ankle strengthening exercise program three times a week for 8 weeks) or control (usual care and recommendations of the healthcare team) group...

BACKGROUND: Measuring maximal respiratory pressure is a widely used method of investigating the strength of inspiratory and expiratory muscles. OBJECTIVES: To compare inspiratory pressures obtained at functional residual capacity (FRC) with measures at residual volume (RV), and expiratory pressures obtained at FRC with measures at total lung capacity (TLC) in individuals with different health conditions: post-COVID-19, COPD, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), heart failure (CHF), and stroke; and to compare the mean differences between measurements at FRC and RV/TLC among the groups...

BACKGROUND: There is lack of agreement in the literature about the effectiveness of photobiomodulation (PBM) for reducing pain-related symptoms in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether PBM, when combined to exercises, provides incremental therapeutic benefits for pain, physical function, and quality of life (QoL) in patients with knee OA. METHODS: A six-month double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial was conducted...