Postural Hygiene Research Articles

A Comparison of Two Short Education Programs for Improving Low Back Pain-Related Disability in the Elderly

Cluster randomized clinical trial. To assess the effectiveness of 2 minimal education programs for improving low back pain (LBP)-related disability in the elderly. No education program has shown effectiveness on low back pain (LBP)-related disability in the elderly. A total of 129 nursing homes (6389 residents) in northern Spain were invited to participate in the study. The actual participants were 12 nursing homes randomly assigned to 3 groups and 661 subjects. An independent physician gave a 20-minute talk with slide projections summarizing the content of the Back Book (active management group), the Back Guide (postural hygiene group), and a pamphlet on cardiovascular health (controls). Disability was measured with the Roland-Morris questionnaire (RMQ). Blind assessments were performed before the intervention, and 30 and 180 days later. The effect of the intervention on disability was estimated by generalized mixed linear random effects models. Mean age of participants ranged between 79.9 and 81.2 years. Disability improved in all groups, but at the 30-day assessment the postural education group showed an additional improvement of 1.1 (95% confidence interval, 0.2-1.9), RMQ points and at the 180-day assessment the active education group an additional improvement of 2.0 (95% confidence interval, 0.6-3.4). In the subset of subjects with LBP when entering the study, postural education had no advantages over controls, while an additional improvement of 3.0 (95% confidence interval, 1.5- 4.5) RMQ points at the 180-day assessment was observed in the active education group. In institutionalized elderly, the handing out of the Back Book supported by a 20-minute group talk improves disability 6 months later, and is even more effective in those subjects with LBP.

Cervicalgias postraumáticas. Tratamiento fisioterapéutico en el primer nivel asistencial

Objective Identification of patients with diagnosed neck injuries who received care in a Primary Health Care Unit of Physiotherapy, and analyse the affectivity of the treatment in cervical whiplash, grade I and II. Methods Design a observational retrospective study was used. Subjects: patients with neck injuries, who received treatment during a year. Results Twenty patients with whiplash, grades I and II, without instability problems, and within a range of ages between 21 and 55 years (mean age = 34.15; standard deviation = 9.2), were treated. Nine men and eleven women. Mean of sessions is 8.25 (standard desviation of 3.8), range between 3 and 15 sessions. Mean treatment intensity by patient and day is 56 minutes. Sessions of treatment were distributed between 7 and 40 days (mean duration of 20 days), with variable periodicity. 82 treatment procedures were done, including thermotherapy, TENS, pulsed ultrasounds, exercise (joint range, strengthening, eyes - neck re-education), manual therapy, and postural hygiene. After treatment, cervical mobility evaluation, muscular and joint palpation, muscular strength, and pain, shows improvement in 80 % of cases. 62.5 % of the patients was satisfied by the results of the treatment. Conclusions A great number of patients (80 %) with whiplash finishes the treatment with physiotherapy. Evaluation shows that every patient that finishes the treatment improves, though this percentage of improvement is lower when the results are evaluated by the patient himself. Monitoring is recommended to evaluate long term results.

Case report Thoracic pain in a collegiate runner

This case study describes the process of examination, re-examination, and intervention for a collegiate runner with mechanical thoracic pain preventing athletic participation and limiting daily function. Unimpaired function fully returned in less than 3 weeks with biweekly sessions to re-establish normal and painfree thoracic mechanics via postural hygiene, exercise, mobilization, and manipulation. The outcome of this case study supports the original hypothesis that the pattern of impairments was in fact responsible for the functional limitations and disability in this athlete. At the time of publication the athlete was without functional limitations and had fully returned to competitive sprinting for the university track team.

Ergonomía en educación secundaria

Objectiveone of the fields of performance in Physiotherapy consists of developing health patterns among the community through education.This study evaluates the effectiveness of the inclusion of physiotherapeutic aspects related to the posturalhygiene and ergonomics in formative cycles of secondary education. Material and method23 students belonging to the last course of the formative cycle of the superior degree of a institute of secondary education of the region of Murcia were assigned to two groups: experimental (n = 15, with an average age of 20.2 years old) and control (n = 8, with an average age of 19.5 years old). The pre-test evaluation was carried with both groups by means of a survey of questions relative to the postural health and a questionnaire to evaluate knowledge of ergonomics and postural hygiene. The experimental group participated during two hours in a physiotherapeutic program in which theoretical and practical aspects about ergonomics and methods of adopting appropriate postural hygiene wereapproached. The program was applied in accordance tothe guidelines established by the Law of General Ordination of Educational System (LOGSE) for the development of a unit within the curriculum of the formative cycle.The group control received attention placebo by the professor-tutor during two hours of academic activities with similar contents. One week later the post-test evaluation was carried by means of a questionnaire testing the knowledge of both groups. Resultsthe health survey detected that a high percentage of the sample (91.3%) had experienced pain or problems with their back. The results of thepre-test indicate initial homogeneity between both groups with regard to the knowledge of ergonomics. However, oneweek after the application of the educational program,the results show a significant difference (p < 0.001) in favour of the experimental group. Conclusionsthe high percentage of subjects from both groups that had experienced, at some time, pain or problems with their back is an indicator of the interest and the motivation that the youths show regarding aspects about Physiotherapy and ergonomicsRelated to the effectiveness of the program, the difference is statistically significant among the marks obtained by the experimental group in the questionnaire. This group has more than enough knowledge of ergonomics including correct assimilation and compression of the unit on the part of the experimental group. This also shows that the educational intervention of the physiotherapist has been effective.Given the importance of the topic, the results obtained and the interest shown by students, director and teachers a unit of work on ergonomics with the physiotherapeutic contents applied in the experimental group has been included in the curriculum for further courses in the center where this study was carried out.

EVALUACIÓN DE LA CARGA POSTURAL PROVOCADA POR LAS CONDICIONES ACTUALES DE LAS ESTACIONES DE TRABAJO DE LOS CAJEROS, EN LAS AGENCIAS DE UNA ENTIDAD FINANCIERA

El objetivo principal de la presente investigación fue evaluar la carga postural provocada por las condiciones físicas de las estaciones de trabajo de los cajeros, en diez agencias de una entidad financiera en la ciudad de Quito. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 43 personas, quienes llenaron un cuestionario general para determinar molestias músculo esqueléticas. Posteriormente se realizó la evaluación de la carga postural a trece usuarios del total de la muestra mencionada, utilizando los métodos OWAS y RULA.&#x0D; Se encontró que el 77% de participantes presentaban molestias principalmente en el cuello y zonas altas y bajas de la espalda. El 60% de las posturas evaluadas con el método OWAS reflejaron niveles donde existe la posibilidad de causar daño al usuario. El método determinó las zonas de riesgo en la estación de trabajo. El 37% de posturas evaluadas con el método RULA, exigieron un estudio a profundidad y corrección de posturas, mientras que el 25% de posturas analizadas, demandaron cambios urgentes en el puesto de trabajo.&#x0D; Se propone al final, realizar la reingeniería de las estaciones de trabajo enfatizando las mejoras en las zonas críticas para controlar los riesgos, plantear programas de promoción de la actividad física, acompañados de capacitación sobre higiene postural, vigilancia de la salud y ergonomía participativa.

Características de morbilidad en funcionarios de una universidad estatal de Costa Rica, América Central

La morbilidad constituye un indicador importante de las causas de mortalidad de una población y permite enfocar las acciones en salud preventiva para disminuir los riesgos. Aquí presento datos del servicio médico de una universidad estatal de Costa Rica. Sus participantes fueron los funcionarios que acudieron a consulta del 19 de enero del 2009 al 14 de diciembre del 2012. Se analizó la población total consultante, usando como instrumentos 2 010 expedientes médicos electrónicos, se realizó un reporte y posterior el análisis estadístico en el programa SPSS. Los hallazgos principales fueron que el 53% de la población consultó entre 1 a 10 consultas anuales, los dos grandes grupos de edad: adultos jóvenes y adultos, consultan en igual proporción; hay ciclos semanales y mensuales, correspondientes a los reportados en otros servicios de salud a nivel nacional. Las causas de consulta coinciden en las reportadas a nivel nacional, por lo que se mantiene la hipótesis de que la ocupación y el nivel socioeconómico (presentados en algunos otros estudios como factores determinantes de la morbilidad) en esta población no presentan un patrón distinto con respecto al patrón nacional. Muchas de las consultas realizadas están relacionadas con pobres hábitos de higiene, mala dieta y sedentarismo, así como poca higiene postural.