MSP is highly prevalent in music students. Neck and upper limb disability were slight to moderate and both were associated with poorer mental health. The main factors associated with MSP were being female, hours spent practicing, and physical activity. Physical and psychological factors should be taken into account in the prevention of MSP in student-musicians.

Background Anthracyclines and monoclonal antibodies against human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) are frequently used to treat breast cancer but they are associated with risk of developing cardiotoxicity. Implementation of cardioprotective strategies as part of breast cancer treatment are needed. To date, a limited number of studies have examined the effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation programs or exercise programs in the prevention of cardiotoxicity through an integral assessment of cardiac function. The ONCORE study proposes an exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation program as a non-pharmacological tool for the management of chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity. Methods The study protocol describes a prospective, randomized controlled trial aimed to determine whether an intervention through an exercise-based CR program can effectively prevent cardiotoxicity induced by anthracyclines and/or anti-HER2 antibodies in women with breast cancer. Three hundred and forty women with breast cancer at early stages scheduled to receive cardiotoxic chemotherapy will be randomly assigned (1:1) to participation in an exercise-based CR program (intervention group) or to usual care and physical activity recommendation (control group). Primary outcomes include changes in left ventricular ejection fraction and global longitudinal strain as markers of cardiac dysfunction assessed by transthoracic echocardiography. Secondary outcomes comprise levels of cardiovascular biomarkers and cardiopulmonary function through peak oxygen uptake determination, physical performance and psychosocial status. Supervised exercise program-related outcomes including safety, adherence/compliance, expectations and physical exercise in- and out-of-hospital are studied as exploratory outcomes. Transthoracic echocardiography, clinical test and questionnaires will be performed at the beginning and two weeks after completion of chemotherapy. Discussion The growing incidence of breast cancer and the risk of cardiotoxicity derived from cancer treatments demand adjuvant cardioprotective strategies. The proposed study may determine if an exercise-based CR program is effective in minimizing chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity in this population of women with early-stage breast cancer. The proposed research question is concrete, with relevant clinical implications, transferable to clinical practice and achievable with low risk. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03964142. Registered on 28 May 2019. Retrospectively registered. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03964142

Functional disability due to lumbar pain should be considered from the biopsychosocial model. There is inconclusive evidence as to whether the key determining factors in this form of disability are psychosocial or physical. Our aim is to identify variables that cause functional disability due to lumbar pain amongst shellfish gatherers in Galicia by means of a cross-sectional survey. Participants (N = 929) completed a self-administered, paper-based questionnaire including sociodemographic and lifestyle issues, as well as the nature of the lumbar pain, the presence of musculoskeletal pain in other regions of the body, the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) and SF-36. Univariate examination, ROC curve and logistic regression analyses were performed. Most of these workers are women (98.7 %), with a mean age of 50.6 years. The point-prevalence of lumbar pain stands at 65.5 %. The RMDQ mean was 4.9 (SD = 4.7). In the logistic regression analysis, the variables associated with disability (RMDQ > median) were age (OR = 1.04), physical exercise (OR = 0.57), pain intensity (OR = 1.16), the number of regions of musculoskeletal pain (OR = 1.24) and mental health (SF-36) (OR = -0.95). Functional disability is determined by the physical nature of the pain and mental health attributes, although the former has a greater impact. In decreasing order of importance, functional disability is attributable to the presence of lower back pain, the number of regions of musculoskeletal pain, the intensity of that pain and age. Regular physical exercise and better mental health have a protective effect on disability.

Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of an exercise therapy program on pain and physical dimension of health-related quality of life for young adults with musculoskeletal pain. Design. This is a randomized controlled single-blind trial. Fifty-seven subjects (58% women) were randomly assigned to experimental [n = 28, 21.4 (2.9) yrs] and control [n = 29, 21.0 (4.2) yrs] groups. The experimental group participated in a 9-wk stabilization exercise therapy program, 60 mins/wk, whereas the control group did not exercise, with a preintervention and postintervention assessment. Primary outcome was Physical Component Summary of SF-36. Secondary outcomes were Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, Visual Analogue Scale, Oswestry Disability Index, Neck Disability Index, and Trunk Flexor Endurance Test. The Shapiro-Wilk, independent t test or Mann-Whitney U test, X 2 , or Fisher's exact test were used for statistical analysis. Results. After intervention, the experimental group improved by 3.2 (4.5) points on the Physical Component Summary (P = 0.01), decreased prevalence of low back pain in the last month (P = 0.02) and cervical disability (P = 0.02), and increased flexor trunk endurance (P = 0.005). Conclusions. This study confirmed that a 9-wk progressive exercise therapy program can improve physical health and reduce the prevalence of cervical disability and low back pain in the last month in young adults with musculoskeletal pain.

The aims of this study are to determine prevalence and co-occurrence of musculoskeletal pain (MSP) among shellfish gatherers and its consequences for the use of medicine, health care, and sickness leave and to investigate predictive factors (sociodemographic, lifestyle, comorbidity) of MSP in five anatomical areas (neck/shoulder/higher back, lower back, elbow/wrist/hand, hip/knee, and leg/ankle/foot). Nine hundred twenty-nine shellfish gatherers (94% women) voluntarily took part in a physiotherapy workshop. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess MSP and its consequences. Regression models were performed to determine the factors predicting the presence of MSP. The two most frequently self-reported forms of MSP were neck pain (70.9%) and lower back pain (65.5%). Sixty-four percent of respondents reported contact with their family doctor during the last 12 months due to MSP, and most subjects (88.1%) reported MSP in two or more locations. Hip/knee pain was associated with leg/ankle/foot pain (crude odds ratio = 3.14). Logistic regression analysis showed that being female and young is associated with lumbar pain, and being older is associated with pain in all areas of the lower limbs. The number of pain sites a person reported significantly predicted the presence of pain in all the anatomical areas studied. Prevalence of MSP and musculoskeletal comorbidity were high. The study shows that the presence of pain reported in one body area is highly dependent on the total number of painful areas. These findings are consistent with those of similar studies.

Background:Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is used to prevent venous stasis and thromboembolism. However, best electrostimulation parameters have yet to be established. The aim of the study was to compare the hemodynamic effects and the participants’ relative discomfort of 3 TENS sequences at the maximum tolerated intensity stimulus.Methods:Twenty-four healthy university students (50% male) participated in a cross-over, randomized study. Each participant received 2 TENS sequences on peroneal nerve at 1 and 5 Hz, and the third one on soleus muscle at 5 Hz. Popliteal flow volume (FV) and peak velocity (PV) were measured using Doppler ultrasound and the relative change from basal values was recorded. Discomfort questionnaires -visual analogue scale (VAS) and verbal rating scale (VRS)- were also administered to compare sensations among the three applications.Results:All interventions produced significant hemodynamic responses compared to baseline. Both 5 Hz applications obtained higher FV increments than 1 Hz TENS (P < .001). The muscle application resulted in the lowest PV increment (P < .001). TENS at 5 Hz on nerve location was the worst tolerated, with higher values in VRS (P = .056) and VAS (P = .11), although not significant.Conclusion:TENS at 5 Hz on soleus site may be the most appropriate protocol for enhancing venous return.

HRQoL, especially physical components, was worse in women shellfish gatherers than in the general population and other population samples.

This study aims to determine the impact of musculoskeletal pain (in terms of intensity of the pain, location and functional disability due to back pain) and other factors (socio-demographic, lifestyle and co-morbidity) on the health-related quality of life on a group of shellfish gatherers. This observational transversal study included 929 shellfish gatherers (18-69 years, 98.7 % women) who completed a self-administered questionnaire, including socio-demographic and lifestyle questions, co-morbidity, intensity and location of musculoskeletal pain, and Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ). Health-related quality of life was assessed using the 36-item Short Form Survey (SF-36). Physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) of the SF-36 were considered as outcome variables. The impact of the different factors on the PCS and MCS scores was evaluated using a stepwise linear regression analysis. Physical health was found to be independently associated to intensity of musculoskeletal pain (regression coefficient, B = -0.96), number of locations with musculoskeletal pain (MSP) (B = -0.77), presence of pain in the hip-knee (B = -2.26), self-reported rheumatic disorders (B = -2.79), lower back pain (B = -1.62) and age (B = -0.06). Mental health was associated with the presence of self-reported depressive syndrome (B = -1043.1) and RMDQ score (B = -42.2). The sample had significantly lower values than the reference population in all of the dimensions of the SF-36. Intensity of the pain, pain in the hip-knee, lower back pain, functional disability due to back pain and number of locations with musculoskeletal pain were found to have a detrimental impact on the physical health of the workers. Depressive syndrome and greater functional disability due to back pain, in turn, predict worse mental health.