International Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain prevention
Volume:5 Issue: 4, Autumn 2020

The purpose of this article is to provide a brief overview on trigger points and tender points and to briefly describe their similarities, differences and treatments.

Self-efficacy is an important predictor of spine-related behavior among adults. This article aimed to assess the self-efficacy toward healthy spine-related behavior among schoolchildren in Iran.

Method and Materials: 

A cross-sectional study was done in region 22 of capital Tehran, Iran , through a simple random sampling method. In this regard, 104 schoolchildren participated in the study. To collect data, a self-reported questionnaire was used. Descriptive/ analytical statistical analysis was applied. Chi-square test was used to obtain relationship between self-efficacy and participants characterizes. The data was analyzed by SPSS version 24.

In all, 104 female elementary schoolchildren who were studying in 5th grade participated in this study. The findings demonstrated that the rate of back pain during last week was 23.1% (n=24). Only, 16.3% (n=17) of participants had a high level of self-efficacy. There were significant relationships  between father’s job (P=0.019) and presence of back pain (P=0.048) with self-efficacy.

Perceived self-efficacy toward healthy spine-related behavior was needed to be improved among schoolchildren by applying potential change strategies in educational program.

Ergonomic risk factors play an important role in prevalence of Work-related MusculoSkeletal Disorders (WMSDs). Due to housewives’ different tasks at home, they seem to be exposed to different safety and health risk factors. The aim of the present study is assessment of risk and WMSDs prevalence in housekeeping job.

Method and Materials:

 In this study, first, the task and subtask of housekeeping job were analyzed by Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) method. Then the postures of 100 housewives were assessed by Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) method and finally, the prevalence of WMSDs was investigated using the Nordic Questionnaire (NQ).

The REBA score for housewives in three tasks of dusting (worst posture), hovering and floor squeegeeing (longest posture) was 8 (high), 2, and 2 (low), respectively. The highest prevalence of WMSDs was reported in the lower back and neck. Significant relationship was observed between Low Back Pain (LBP) and stand-sit activity.

This study showed high prevalence of WMSDs symptoms in study population, especially in their lower back and neck. In addition, it was indicated that the working conditions of housewives need to be improved. It is recommended to train individuals to identify ergonomic risk factors and use proper ergonomic principles and procedures to prevent WRMSDs in housework.

Pain is a common phenomenon among emergency patients which may lead to chronic pain conditions and alteration of physiological function. However, it is widely reported that proper pain assessment and management, which is often accomplished by adequately trained nurses, reduce the suffering of patients. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude of the nurses towards pain management.

Method and Materials:

 This study has been performed among 187 nurses who working in emergency wards of hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). Data has been gathered via the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) tool. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data through SPSS software version 16.

Totally, 187 emergency nurses including 91 female (48.7%) and 96 male (51.3%) entered into the study and completed the questionnairethe study findings showed that most of the nurses (about 57.2%) had low average knowledge and attitude towards pain management. The relationship between knowledge/attitude of nurses with number of assigned patients (p=0.028) and the gender of nurses (P=0.034) were significant.

The study results demonstrate that nurses have low average knowledge and attitude towards pain management which is one of the most important obstacles for efficient pain management.

Back pain is a common disabling chronic problem that burdens individuals, families and societies. Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP) has a significant effect on functional status and limiting work activity. This study aimed to assess the status of CLBP and disability among individuals who referred to Zanjan University of Medical Sciences (ZUMS).

 This descriptive study was performed on individuals with CLBP who referred to the teaching hospitals of ZUMS. In this study, the demographic questionnaire and the Oswestry Lumbar Disability Questionnaire were used to collect information to assess disability and change in life activities. The questionnaire of Van Korf et al. was used to measure pain intensity with Numerical Pain Rate (NPR). Finally, the data were entered into SPSS software version 26 and statistical analysis was performed in frequency / percentage.

Totally 238 individuals including 159 (66.8) women with a mean age of (40.06±13.22) and 79 (33.2) men with a mean age of (35.56±16.12) participated in the study completed the questionnaires. According to the results, 56.3% (N=) of participants have disabilities and 34.5% (N=) have low disabilities.

Back pain is a major public health problem among adolescents and in particular among pupils. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a back care intervention on spine-related behavior among female students.

Method and Materials: 

This randomized quasi-experimental study was conducted on female students who were studying in high schools of Babolsar, Iran. Just intervention group received the peer educational program. However, the control group received no intervention. The data were collected by a valid questionnaire regarding backpack carrying . Effective factors in two time points of initial of the study and 6-month follow up were assessed. The data were analyzed by SPSS software version 21 at a significance level of 0.05.

Totally, 92 students including 46 students in intervention group and 46 students in control group participated in the study. According the findings of the study, mean ± standard deviation of backpack weight before the intervention was (6.14 ± 0.57), ratio of backpack weight to student weight was (0.1 ± 0.01) and backpack carrying duration was (132.6 ± 46.81) which all these variables six months after the intervention reduced to 4.09 ± 0.92; 0.06 ± 0.02 and 93.36 ± 58.06 respectively (P <0.001). The percentage of bilateral backpack carrying in the experimental group increased from 32.6% (n= 15) to 73.9% (n= 34) (P <0.001). However, no significant difference regarding mentioned variables was observed in the control group (P <0.05). The effect size of the intervention was moderate to large (0.4-0.6).

Peer educational interventions could be effective for improving back pack carrying behavior. However, doing more interventional researches in future is recommended.