عباس سلطانی صومعه

Painful bladder syndrome is known as a chronic and progressive bladder disorder. The present systematic review was performed with aim to investigate the method of posterior tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) in the treatment of painful bladder syndrome.

This systematic review study was conducted using Persian and English keywords and all their possible combinations in PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, Google scholar, Web of science, The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Cinhal, SID, Magiran, IranMedex and IranDoc databases without time and language limitation until April 2022. Two authors independently identified, screened and qualitatively reviewed the articles and extracted data.

Using the search strategy, 317 studies were retrieved. Seven studies with 174 samples were included in the present systematic review and among them 5 articles were eligible for meta-analysis. The findings showed that needle stimulation of the posterior tibial nerve caused a significant improvement and reduction in the mean frequency of nocturnal urination (mean difference: -0.78, 95% confidence interval: -0.15 to -1.41) and daily urination frequency (mean difference: -3.94, 95% confidence interval: -1.43 to -6.44) compared to the values before treatment. Also, although the values related to interstitial cystitis symptom index (ICSI) and interstitial cystitis problem index (ICPI) also decreased after the intervention compared to the values before treatment, based on the random effects model, this mean difference was not statistically significant.

The results of the present study showed the effect of needle stimulation of the posterior tibial nerve on the mean frequency of daily urination and nighttime urination, however, due to the heterogeneity of the studies and the absence of a control arm, it is not possible to definitely determine a standard method for stimulation of the posterior tibial nerve. Therefore, it is recommended to conduct randomized clinical trials with a larger sample size.

Cerebral palsy leads to many physical and functional limitations in the daily living of the children, which results in the child becoming dependent on parents and especially the mother. For this reason, mothers of these children spend a lot of time caring for their children. According to the evidence, mothers of these children experience higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression compared with mothers of typically developing children. This amount of stress may reduce quality of life in these mothers. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of occupational performance coaching as one of the interventions in order to improve mental health in mothers of children with cerebral palsy.

In the current study with pretest-posttest design and a control group, 30 mothers of children with cerebral palsy wererandomly assigned to intervention or control groups. The short form of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), COPM questionnaire, Gross Motor Function Classification Scale (GMFCS), and SPARCLE Form were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using independent t-test and Mann-Whitney test in SPSS, version 22.

The results of data analysis showed that after performing occupational performance coaching, mothers had significantly lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression in the post-test scores as compared with their pre-test scores.

According to our results, ooccupational performance coaching can be used as an effective intervention to improve the mental health in mothers of children with cerebral palsy and to reduce their level of stress, anxiety, and depression along with other approaches.

Sensory information is essential for controlling and modulating muscle force. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of the lower leg sensory feedback on the force sense of the knee extensor muscle.

22 healthy young men participated in this cross-sectional study through simple random sampling. Before and immediately following manipulation of skin sensory information, the mean error of three times of reproducition of the target force [50% of Maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC)] of the knee extensor muscles was measured using a special dynamometer and reported. The force sense of the knee extensor muscles was examined at an angle of 60 degrees of flexion. The test was conducted in three conditions: normal (control) state, after using a thick sponge on the distal end of the dominant leg, and after placing a bag of small ice blocks on the distal end of the dominant leg for 20 minutes. To evaluate the force sense, the force reproduction methods were used in ipsilateral and contralateral knee. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and paired t-test were used to compare different conditions.

By manipulating the leg sensory information, no significant change was observed in the force reproduction error (absolute, constant, and variable errors) of the ipsilateral leg (P > 0.05). However, a significant change was observed in the force reproduction error in contralateral side (P < 0.05).

It seems that the leg sensory information plays an important role in accurate perception of the force at contralateral knee joint. Therefore, signals delivered by the sensory afferents are important in understanding and controlling force.

Standing balance deficits are common in hemiplegic patients after stroke. One method to treat these deficits is to provide the patient with visual feedback while balance activities are performed. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of using visual biofeedback with conventional physical therapy on static postural stability following stroke.

This randomized clinical trial included 32 patients (11 females and 21 males) with hemiplegia secondary to stroke. These patients were randomly assigned in two groups; control and experimental groups. These groups were matched for age, weight and height. Patients were tested using Equitest (amplitude of postural sway) and two digital weight scales (symmetry) before, 6 sessions and 12 sessions after physical therapy intervention. The trained group received visual biofeedback from Biodex Balance System combined with conventional physical therapy whereas the control group performed conventional physical therapy without biofeedback.

Significant improvements in static stroke balance measurements were found in trained group. In trained group, symmetry of weight bearing was increased (P = 0.008) and postural sway was decreased (P = 0.03).

This study revealed that visual biofeedback training with conventional physical therapy improved proprioception and decreased hemineglect effects in stroke patients. Improved proprioception resulted in symmetry and decreased sway, subsequently increased static balance in stroke patients.

Patellar taping is one of the method of treatment of patellofemoral pain but effect of patellar taping on VMO and VL reflex as a one of mechanism of pain relieve is questionable. The purpose of this study were to investigate the effect of patellar taping on the timing of the onset of VMO and VL reflex in patients with patellofemoral pain and to compare the obtained of VMO and VL reflex with normal subject. Onset time of VMO & VL reflex to a special mechanical stimulus (tapping the quadriceps tendon) were measured in 21 healthy subjects and 15 patients suffering from patellofemoral(20-30 years old). Each subject’s quadriceps tendon was tap armed reflex hammer and EMG signals were recorded. Following this recording, the patellar taping was performed on the patients using leucoplast tapes,so that their pain score dropped to less than 50% of their original pain according to VAS, when one leg provocation maneuver was used to provoke the pain in the patellofemoral joints. Latency of the onset of the reflex response of VMO and VL were different in normal subject’s compare to the patients. Taping of patellofemoral joint, as performed in this study, change the timing of the activity of the VMO in the patients suffering from patellofemoral pain. Reduced latency of VMO activation as the result of taping as observed in this study, may have a positive effect on the patellar tracking. Further studies are recommended in order to substantiate the clinical effects of such that change caused by patellar taping.