Aims: The aim this study is was to review in the literature studies on the handgrip strength analysis in the elderly. Source of data: Were selected manually manuscripts in the Portuguese and English languages indexed in the electronic databases SciELO, Lilacs and MEDLINE starting from the primary descriptor “Força da mão” (“Hand Strength”) in crossroads with the secondary descriptors “Idoso” (“Aged”) and “Envelhecimento” (“Aging”), all according to the Descriptors of Health Sciences. Summary of findings: We included studies, with samples composed of elderly submitted to the hand strength test, by means of manual dynamometry. Was found 4155 articles in the search. Of these, 65 articles were read carefully and 08 were included in the present review. Conclusions: In short, older men have a higher palmar grip strength compared to women. Furthermore, risk factors such as osteoporosis, pain and malnutrition may influence in handgrip strength and general muscular strength of the elderly, and regular physical exercises may increase or prevent loss of manual force.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Sarcopenia and chronic pain are geriatric syndromes that negatively impact the lives of the affected elderly, their families and the routine of health services, as is the case of long-term care institutions for the elderly. The objective of this study was to verify the relationship between sarcopenia and chronic pain in institutionalized elderly women. METHODS: A cross-sectional, population-based study was carried out in 24 long-term care institutions for the elderly, in Passo Fundo/RS (December 2016-June 2017). The population was composed of 161 residents in these places, submitted to an instrument structured in 23 blocks. In this study, blocks A (type of institution), B (sociodemographic variables), F (sarcopenia) and G (chronic pain) were used. Blocks A, B and G were evaluated using the elderly self-report and the block F through the SARC-F Questionnaire. The statistical analysis used the descriptive statistics and the chi-square test with Pearson's relation (p≤0.05). RESULTS: The sample consisted of 79 elderly women (81.38±8.79 years). The majority between 80 to 89 years, living in private institutions, white, widowed and with 1 to 8 years of education. It was observed that 62% had sarcopenia and 41.8% chronic pain, and these variables were associated (p=0.033). There was no association between sarcopenia or chronic pain with age (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: There was an association between sarcopenia and chronic pain in institutionalized elderly women. Based on

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Systemic sclerosis is a chronic, multi-systemic and auto-immune disease, characterized by widespread angiopathy in small and microcirculation, Raynoud's phenomenon and skin and internal organs fibrosis. Physiotherapy is an effective alternative to fight musculoskeletal injuries caused by the disease. This study aimed at evaluating the effects of a physiotherapy program on pain and quality of life of two systemic sclerosis elderly patients. CASE REPORTS: Longitudinal and interventionist case study. Participated in the study two elderly patients with systemic sclerosis, treated in the Physiotherapy Clinic, Universidade de Passo Fundo/RS. Patients were submitted to baseline evaluation made up of data collection (history and physical-functional evaluation) and application of the visual analog scale and of the Quality of Life Questionnaire -Medical Outcomes Study 36 -Item ShortForm Health Survey (SF-36) translated and validated to the Portuguese language. After baseline evaluation, elderly patients were submitted to a kinesiotherapy-based intervention program, with frequency of 2 weekly sessions and duration of 1h per session, in a total of 15 sessions. According to the visual analog scale, patients have improved pain and, according to SF-36, have improved quality of life. CONCLUSION: Kinesiotherapy-based physiotherapeutic intervention protocol was an effective strategy to treat pain and improve quality of life of systemic sclerosis elderly patients.

Introdução : a osteoartrite é uma doença articular inflamatória e degenerativa que acomete principalmente os joelhos, sobretudo em idosos. Objetivo: verificar os efeitos da cinesioterapia na osteoartrite de joelho em idosos. Métodos: realizou-se uma revisão sistemática nas bases de dados SciELO, LILACS, Cochrane Library e MEDLINE, onde cruzaram-se os descritores “Osteoartrite”, “Fisioterapia”, “Exercício”, “Terapia por exercício” e “Idoso”, nas línguas portuguesa, inglesa e espanhola, considerando-se os artigos originais publicados entre 2010 e 2016. Resultados: encontraram-se 594 artigos. Inicialmente 62 artigos potencialmente relevantes foram selecionados para o estudo. Após uma análise qualitativa cri - teriosa, selecionaram-se 06 artigos completos que preencheram os critérios de inclusão exigidos, cujos mesmos foram analisados por meio da Escala PEDro. Conclusão: a cinesioterapia (aquecimento, alongamento dos músculos posteriores da coxa e fortalecimento dos músculos anteriores da coxa), com frequência de duas vezes por semana, em um período de seis a 12 semanas, parece ser benéfica para melhorar o desempenho muscular, funcionalidade, diminuir a dor e rigidez em idosos com osteoartrite de joelho, sem a necessidade de recursos adicionais.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Geriatric population is considerably increasing. However, musculoskeletal disorders, especially chronic low back pain, which is one of the most common complaints during outpatient assistance, seem to grow together with this phenomenon and physiotherapy may be an alternative to treat such pathology. This study aimed at reviewing in the literature information about physiotherapeutic management for chronic low back pain in the elderly. CONTENTS: Twenty-six articles were selected by means of a query with research keywords in electronic databases Scielo and Pubmed, published in Portuguese and English, using the keywords low back pain (dor lombar), chronic pain (dor crônica), physical therapy specialty (fisioterapia) and aged (idoso), and published between 2006 and 2015. CONCLUSION: Different physiotherapeutic techniques and resources are effective to manage the impact of low back pain in the elderly, such as kinesiotherapy (especially by means of stabilizing exercises), electrotherapy, hydrotherapy and individual education management. Keywords: Chronic pain, Elderly, Low back pain, Physiotherapy. RESUMO JUSTIFICATIVA E OBJETIVOS:A população geriátrica vem crescendo consideravelmente nos últimos tempos. Contudo, os distúrbios osteomioarticulares, especialmente a dor lombar crônica, que é uma das queixas mais comuns nos atendimentos ambulatoriais, parecem crescer juntamente com esse fenômeno e a fisioterapia pode servir como alternativa no tratamento dessa doença. O objetivo deste estudo foi revisar na literatura informações a respeito do tratamento fisioterapêutico no impacto da dor lombar crônica em idosos. Physiotherapeutic intervention on chronic lumbar pain impact in the elderly Intervenção fisioterapêutica no impacto da dor lombar crônica em idosos