Background Nordic walking (NW) and retro walking (RW) are innovative exercise interventions that target balance, mobility, and functional health in aging populations. While both methods have been shown to enhance physical performance, their comparative impact on quality of life (QoL) in young-old individuals remains underexplored. Given the growing need for effective aging strategies, this study aimed to evaluate and compare the effects of NW and RW on QoL over a 4-week intervention, providing insights into their potential for promoting healthy aging. Methods A comparative study was conducted with 40 participants (aged 60–75 years), who were assigned to either the NW or RW group. The intervention consisted of supervised 3 days/week sessions for 4 weeks. The SF-36 questionnaire was used to assess eight QoL domains: Physical Functioning, Role-Physical, Pain, General Health, Vitality, Social Functioning, Role-Emotional, and Mental Health. Within-group and between-group analyses were performed using appropriate statistical tests. Results Both NW and RW groups demonstrated statistically significant within-group improvements across all SF-36 domains ( p < 0.05). However, between-group comparisons did not show statistically significant differences. Clinically, NW showed consistently higher mean differences in Physical Functioning (7.9), Role-Physical (5.8), Pain (6.91), General Health (4.09), Vitality (6.87), Social Functioning (3.24), Role-Emotional (5.4), and Mental Health (8.24), indicating a greater functional impact compared to RW. Conclusion Both interventions effectively improved QoL, but NW exhibited superior clinical benefits across multiple domains. These findings suggest that NW may be more effective for promoting holistic well-being in young-old adults.

Introduction To meet projected public healthcare workforce needs, healthcare graduate supply must increase. Capacity of placements across healthcare settings must grow to facilitate an increase in student enrolment across physiotherapy programmes. Methodology A quantitative research approach was followed with 40 physiotherapist managers completing an anonymous online survey. Findings Whilst demand for placements has increased across all healthcare settings, supply in primary care increased but remained constant in acute care. Twenty-five percent of respondents provided placements under capacity. In primary care settings placement capacity was calculated using a singular method, whilst in the acute care setting multiple approaches were used. Willingness of staff was the most reported means to calculate placement capacity across all settings. There was no consistent physiotherapist to student ratio. The majority of respondents in primary care agreed that service delivery levels remain constant with students on placement, while the majority of respondents in acute care disagreed. There was agreement with nine enablers to placement provision related to the healthcare setting and eight enablers related to practice educators; however when the enablers were ranked, differences were identified across the healthcare settings. Conclusion Placements must be provided at capacity, and capacity calculated using consistent robust data. A physiotherapist to student ratio and a minimum number of placement days provided by physiotherapist should be considered in order to meet the projected workforce. The impact of students on service delivery levels and practice educator caseload should be calculated. Top ranked enablers to the provision of placements across different healthcare settings must be implemented and supported.

Background The effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have been well reported in populations with chronic pain in the literature. However, in neuropathic pain (NP), results remain contrasting, with previous studies showing small effect sizes and some factors that may influence the efficacy of tDCS. Objective To evaluate the effects of tDCS on pain intensity, disability, and psychological aspects in individuals with chronic NP, and to determine the predictive effect of characteristics of individuals, study design, and intervention parameters. Design and Setting Systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-regression. Methods A literature search was conducted in the databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, and CENTRAL, in July 2025. Controlled clinical trials involving individuals with chronic NP treated with tDCS were included. The standardized mean difference (SMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated. Meta-regression was performed to investigate potential moderators of the treatment effect. Results Eighteen studies were included with a pooled sample of 482 individuals. Moderate level of evidence indicated that tDCS was superior to sham for improving pain (SMD = −0.47; 95% CI: −0.75; −0.19), and low level of evidence indicated that tDCS was not superior to sham in improving disability, anxiety, and depression. Meta-regression analyses demonstrated that duration of pain is negatively correlated with effect size. In addition, stimulation target, randomization, and study design significantly contributed to variability. Conclusion Moderate level of evidence indicated that tDCS may have beneficial effects on pain intensity. Symptom duration, tDCS application site, and methodological quality are moderators of tDCS effects. Future studies are required to enhance the quality of evidence.

Objectives Most research in the healthcare professions relating to interpersonal work with individuals who have dementia addresses domains where the practitioner is actively trained for this task. Little research has, however, investigated clinical interaction between physiotherapists and those with dementia. Moreover, contemporary tertiary physiotherapy education has to date provided little pertinent preparatory curriculum content. This paper, thus, reports findings from a UK-based exploratory study of early-career physiotherapists’ lived experiences of managing clinical encounters with people with dementia. Design A qualitative investigative framework was adopted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and investigated using the core conventions of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Participants With institutional ethical approval, N = 5 early-career physiotherapists were purposively recruited. Of these, n = 4 were female and n = 1 were male, with a minimum of 1 year of post-qualification experience and a maximum of four ( mean = 1.8), and an age range of 23 to 33 years ( mean = 25.6). Results Three superordinate themes emerged: (1) Confidence, communication and experience. (2) Family members and significant others’ involvement in the care. (3) The learning journey. Conclusion and Implications Participants indicated that while their physiotherapy education did little to prepare them for the realities of working with individuals with dementia, providing more ‘raw information’ about dementia syndromes would have had only limited utility. Training around the emotional costs, social contexts and interpersonal demands of the work were viewed as a prospectively stronger grounding. Future research around curriculum development in physiotherapy, might encourage greater emphasis on communication, resilience and confidence around dementia.

Background Breastfeeding-related musculoskeletal disorders (BRMSDs) are prevalent among nursing mothers. Knowledge of suitable breastfeeding positions and their adverse health outcomes is necessary for the prevention of BRMSDs. However, research is lacking that has examined this in the southeast Nigerian population. Objectives To assess the knowledge of BRMSDs and suitable breastfeeding positions among pregnant women in the Enugu metropolis. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted on 100 pregnant women (mean age of 27.2 ± 5.0 years) who completed a researcher-structured questionnaire on the knowledge of BRMSDs and general characteristics of the participants. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics of Chi-square at p < 0.05. Results Slightly over half (55.0%) of the respondents lacked awareness of BRMSDs. Out of the 45% of them who were aware of BRMSDs, the majority gained the knowledge from antenatal and postnatal clinics (62.2%) and identified the upper/lower back (82.2%) and neck (62.2%) as the most affected body parts while breastfeeding for long hours per session was identified as the most common cause of BRMSDs (57.7%). The majority (53.0%) of the respondents have average knowledge of suitable breastfeeding positions. Furthermore, primigravida, a lesser number of previous childbirths, a lesser number of previous children, no previous breastfeeding experience, and non-attendance of antenatal classes in previous pregnancy(ies) were significantly ( p < 0.05) associated with pregnant women’s knowledge of BRMSDs. Conclusion Knowledge of BRMSDs and suitable breastfeeding positions is fair among pregnant women. Maternal education to address these gaps is recommended.

Objectives To determine how much people are willing to pay (WTP) to attend an Advanced Practice Physiotherapy (APP) clinic using a contingent valuation approach, and to investigate if parents had a greater WTP for their child than themselves. Methods Parents were invited to complete a survey on their WTP to attend both adult and child clinics, as well as sociodemographic and background characteristics. Univariate and multiple regression analyses were performed to identify those factors, which were significant predictors of WTP. Results The response rate was 76%. Mean stated WTP for the adult clinic was €327 (95% CI €287.-€378) and for the children’s clinic was €480 (95% CI €416.-€556), yielding a significant difference of €154 ( p ≤ .0001). Male gender was positively associated with WTP for the children’s clinic and having private health insurance and experience of working in healthcare were negatively associated with WTP, controlling for confounding variables. Conclusion This study explored the feasibility of the CV approach for APP clinic and whether parents had a positive WTP for their children over themselves for these services. The approach produced results demonstrating that the public place marked value on the service over and above the cost of the service. As the APP clinic also has an incremental cost saving to the health service over the cost of an appointment with usual care, these results show that the APP is both less costly and more beneficial than usual care and therefore a dominating strategy.

Introduction Trapezitis is a musculoskeletal condition involving inflammation of the trapezius muscle and myofascial trigger points (MTrPs), leading to pain and restricted cervical mobility. Fascial Distortion Model (FDM) and Kinetic Chain Activation Technique (KCAT) are emerging manual therapies targeting these dysfunctions. This study aimed to compare their effects on pain pressure threshold (PPT), pain intensity, and cervical range of motion (ROM) in young adults with trapezitis. Methods A RCT was conducted on 54 participants aged 18–26 years with trapezitis. Participants were randomly assigned to Group A (FDM) or Group B (KCAT), each receiving their respective interventions along with conventional therapy. PPT was measured using a pressure Algometer, pain intensity using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and cervical ROM with a universal goniometer. Data were analyzed using paired and independent t-tests, with significance set at p < 0.05. Results Both groups showed significant improvement ( p < 0.001). Group A (FDM) demonstrated a greater reduction in pain with a mean increase in Pain Pressure Threshold of 1.98 (95% CI: 1.65–2.31) and a decrease in pain intensity by 2.47 (95% CI: 2.12–2.82). Group B (KCAT) showed greater improvement in cervical mobility, flexion 13.41° (95% CI: 12.37–14.45), extension 14.33° (95% CI: 13.11–15.55), lateral flexion 10.63° (95% CI: 9.35–11.91), and rotation 22.48° (95% CI: 20.45–24.51). Between-group comparisons favored FDM for pain outcomes (PPT p = 0.031; VAS p = 0.003) and KCAT for mobility outcomes (flexion p = 0.022; rotation p = 0.006). Conclusion FDM is more effective for pain relief, while KCAT better improves cervical mobility. Both are effective in managing trapezitis however, as this was a single-session intervention and the study was not statistically powered, the long-term effects and generalizability of the findings remain uncertain.

Background Low back pain (LBP) is a common problem in athletes including those in Gaelic games. Valid, reliable and feasible clinical tests to evaluate trunk function are necessary for practitioners working in the field. Objectives This pilot study aimed to investigate the intra-rater reliability and known-groups validity of tests for isometric trunk muscle strength using a hand-held dynamometer (HHD) and trunk endurance using the McGill protocol and novel ‘long-lever’ tests in a group of male Gaelic games athletes, with and without LBP. Methods Nine participants with and without LBP were recruited. All completed a battery of strength and endurance tests. Intra-tester (relative and absolute) was determined by calculating the intraclass coefficients (ICC 2,1), standard error of measurement and minimal detectible change. Known-groups validity was investigated using independent T-tests and measuring the effect sizes (Cohen’s d ) of the tests. Results Isometric strength testing using an HHD for flexion, extension and rotation showed excellent reliability for both groups (ICC = 0.78–0.89). All endurance tests, except the long-lever lateral flexion tests, showed excellent intra-tester reliability in both groups (ICC = 0.76–0.98). Three tests, right isometric lateral flexion strength, isometric extension strength and the Biering-Sorensen endurance test, were shown to discriminate between those with and without LBP in this cohort ( p < 0.05). Conclusion Isometric strength testing using an HHD and certain endurance tests are reliable, valid and feasible for use in athletes with and without LBP. Isometric extension strength and endurance can discriminate between those with and without LBP.

Objective This study aimed to investigate the relationship between creatine kinase (CK) levels and the mechanical properties of lower limb muscles—specifically stiffness and elasticity—in order to propose a practical and time-efficient methodology for fatigue monitoring in professional athletes. Methods Twenty-seven male professional soccer players participated in the study. Muscle stiffness and elasticity were measured using a handheld myotonometer (MyotonPro) at 23 reference points across the dominant lower limb. CK levels were assessed via venous blood samples collected 48 h post-match. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to examine associations between CK and mechanical muscle properties. Results Significant positive correlations were observed between CK levels and the stiffness of adductor longus (r = 0.57, p < 0.01), rectus femoris (r = 0.51, p < 0.05), and vastus medialis (r = 0.38, p = 0.05). A strong correlation was also found between CK and the elasticity of the biceps femoris (r = 0.56, p < 0.01). No significant relationships were detected for relaxation or creep parameters. These findings suggest that only a select group of CK-sensitive muscles may be sufficient for monitoring neuromuscular fatigue. Conclusion While current fatigue monitoring practices often involve extensive muscle group assessments, this study proposes a simplified protocol based on the identification of fatigue-sensitive muscles with strong CK associations. By bridging the gap between biochemical and biomechanical evaluations, this approach offers a practical and scalable solution for fatigue monitoring in both clinical and sports performance settings.