Merits of exercise therapy before and after major surgery

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Advances in medical care have led to an increasing elderly population. Elderly individuals should be able to participate in society as long as possible. However, with an increasing age their adaptive capacity gradually decreases, specially before and after major life events (like hospitalization and surgery) making them...

Jeugdgezondheidszorgrichtlijn 'Zindelijkheid urine en feces' [Guideline 'Incontinence urine and feces' of the Dutch Preventive Youth Health Care]

Continence problems can occur during childhood. This guideline is for the Dutch Youth Health Care (JGZ) and gives recommendations for the prevention, early detection and treatment of these problems. As a preventative measure advices for potty training should be started in children aged 18-24 months. If incontinence is present, it is important to...

Can workers with chronic back pain shift from pain elimination to function restore at work? Qualitative evaluation of an innovative work related multidisciplinary programme

Introduction: Workers with chronic low back pain (LBP) mean a heavy human and social-economic burden. Their medical histories often include different treatments without attention to work-relatedness or communication with occupational health providers, leaving them passive and medicalized in (outpatient) health care. So we developed and...

The effects of an exercise program for older adults with osteoarthritis of the hip

Objective. Evaluation of an 8-week exercise program with strength training and lifestyle advice for older adults with osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip. Outcome measures were pain, hip function, disability, quality of life (QOL), and body mass index (BMI). Methods. Inclusion criteria for this randomized controlled trial were: age a 55 years,...

The effects of physical therapists' guidance on improvement in a strength-training program for the frail elderly

Elderly participants experiencing difficulty in chair rising and with a maximum knee-extensor torque below 87.5 N · m were randomized to different versions of a strength-training program for the knee-extensors: to a high-guidance group (HG; two group sessions supervised by a physical therapist and one unsupervised home session per week, n = 17),...

Functional adaptation through changes in regional biochemical characteristics during maturation of equine superficial digital flexor tendons

Objective - To quantify and compare biochemical characteristics of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of specimens harvested from tensional and compressive regions of the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) of horses in age classes that include neonates to mature horses. Sample population - Tendon specimens were collected on postmortem...

Physical exercise interventions to improve disability and return to work in low back pain: Current insights and opportunities for improvement

Introduction: There is a body of literature that indicates that physical exercise interventions, with a primary focus on improvement of functioning instead of pain relief, might be effective to stimulate return to work and improve function in workers who are absent from work due to low back pain (LBP). Successful application and implementation...

Dropout from exercise programs for seniors: A prospective cohort study

This study examines dropout incidence, moment of dropout, and switching behavior in organized exercise programs for seniors in the Netherlands, as determined in a prospective cohort study (with baseline measurements at the start of the exercise program and follow-up after 6 months; N = 1,725, response rate 73%). Participants were community...

Cesar-therapie tijdelijk effectiever dan standaardbehandeling door de huisarts bij patiënten met chronische aspecifieke lage rugklachten: Gerandomiseerd, gecontroleerd en geblindeerd onderzoek met 1 jaar follow-up [Cesar therapy is temporarily more effective than a standard treatment from the general practitioner in patients with chronic aspecific lower back pain; randomized, controlled and blinded study with a I year follow-up]

Objective. To determine the effectiveness of a special form of exercise therapy ('Cesar therapy') on self reported recovery and improvement of posture amongst patients with chronic aspecific lower back pain. Design. Prospective randomized controlled and blinded investigation. Method. After informed consent had been obtained, patients with...

The effects of a health educational and exercise program for older adults with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee

Objective. Evaluation of a self-management program for patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip or knee. The program, which consisted of 6 weekly sessions of 2 hours, included health education by a peer and physical exercises taught by a physical therapist. Methods. Randomized controlled trial. Inclusion criteria were diagnosis of OA of the...