Patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) spend less time on vigorous activities due to lower aerobic capacity with functional limitations that can be attributed to a detraining effect, resulting in a poor quality of life (QoL). The overall aims of rehabilitation are to restore, to maintain, and to enhance the QoL and this detraining effect could possibly be reversed by a rehabilitation program. This randomized controlled prospective longitudinal descriptive study evaluated the impact of a rehabilitation program of moderate-intensity cycling and treadmill walking exercises with a home program on the QoL for individuals on HAART. Fifty-two participants with baseline QoL values formed the experimental and control groups with a 3-month pretest and posttest using the short-form health survey (SF-36) questionnaire. No adverse effects from exercises were experienced, and 20 (77%) of the experimental and 16 (62%) of the controls completed the program. A significantly higher number of women dropped out (P<0.04), with four (15%) from the experimental group and six (23%) from the control group. There were significant improvements in all QoL domains (P<0.05) for the experimental group compared with the control group, with the physical component summary (P<0.018) and mental component summary (P<0.021) scores being significantly higher after rehabilitation. Sick leave decreased from a mean of 7 days to 3 for the experimental group and 5 for the control group. These results indicate that a rehabilitation program of moderate-intensity exercises with a home program significantly improved the QoL for individuals on HAART. Further research with a comprehensive rehabilitation program and a larger sample is recommended.

This study supports a rehabilitation program of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise and progressive resisted exercise being safe and effective for reducing neuropathic pain and is beneficial with analgesics for HIV-induced distal symmetrical polyneuropathy.

After antiretroviral therapy (ART) became available in South Africa, persons living with HIV (PLWH) began to survive, but they often experienced disability as a result of their illness and treatments. Management of HIV is more often successful with a holistic approach including medicine, rehabilitation, and social care. There is limited literature on collaborations between nurses and allied health professionals in the rehabilitation of PLWH, with no documentation of partnerships between nurses and physiotherapists in high-HIV burdened countries. We investigated the collaboration between nurses and physiotherapists in the rehabilitation of PLWH. We conducted two focus groups with experienced nurses at two residential facilities for PLWH in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, using Van Manen's pedagogy on interpretive phenomenology as the conceptual framework. Three barriers to collaboration were found: role governance, environmental structure, and organizational variance. Education and in-service programs and workshops were suggested to curb the divide.

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Background:Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common degenerative articular disease that causes disability and poor quality of life (QoL) of the individuals. Electrotherapeutic agents such as therapeutic ultrasound (US), interferential current (IFC), and infrared radiation are used in the treatment. It is not clear which of these agents is the best in improving these variables.Objective:The study aimed to compare the effects of the combined application of US and IFC therapies and infrared radiation on pain, functional activities, and QoL in people with KOA.Methods:In a randomized controlled study, 60 participants were randomized into two groups, the combination therapy group (CTG) and the infrared radiation group (IRG). Each group received 15-min treatment three times per week for 12 weeks. The visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess the pain, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) for functional activities and the Short Form Health Survey questionnaire for QoL.Results:Participants in the CTG had a significant (p<0.05) reduction in pain and significant (p<0.05) improvement in functional activities and QoL compared to the IRG.Conclusion:The results of this study support the use of the combination of IFC and US therapies to reduce pain and improve function and QoL for KOA patients.

A high prevalence of MSDs was found among diabetic patients with the hand and shoulder being the most frequently reported areas affected. However, future studies with a larger sample and the relevant type of diabetes are required.

Rebound exercise is simple, inexpensive and enjoyable. It can be a beneficial recreational adjuvant exercise for improving HbA1c , FPG and BMI in T2D individuals in a rural environment and reduce health care costs and pharmacological complications associated with diabetes.

AbstractBackground and aims:Non-specific neck pain (NsNP) constitutes a burden to the bearers and a management challenge to physiotherapists globally. Effectiveness of neck stabilisation and dynamic exercises in the management of NsNP has been documented, but it is not clear which exercise regimen is more effective in alleviating its associated pain, depression and anxiety. This study was carried out to compare the effectiveness of neck stabilisation and/or dynamic exercises on pain intensity, depression and anxiety among patients with NsNP.Methods:Eighty-nine consenting individuals with NsNP participated in this single-blind, randomised controlled trial. They were recruited from the outpatient physiotherapy clinics of the National Orthopaedic Hospital in Dala, Kano State, Nigeria. Participants were randomly assigned into one of three intervention groups: neck stabilisation exercise group (NSEG;n=30), neck dynamic exercise group (NDEG;n=28) and neck stabilisation and dynamic exercise group (NSDEG;n=31). Treatment was administered thrice weekly for 8 consecutive weeks. Variables were assessed at baseline, at the end of the fourth and eighth weeks. Pain intensity was assessed through the use of a visual analogue scale, while depression and anxiety were evaluated using both the Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) andpost hoctests with Bonferroni adjustment at thep=0.05 significant level.Results:Ages of participants in NSEG (46.8±12.4 years), NDEG (48.6±11.6 years) and NSDEG (45.1±13.4 years) were comparable. The comparison for NSEG, NSDEG and NDEG within groups revealed that there was significant difference in pain intensity, depression and anxiety scores from baseline, in the fourth and eighth weeks of the study – (F=62.40,p=0.001, F=13.91,p=0.001 and F=20.93,p=0.001); (F=11.92,p=0.001, F=8.75,p=0.004 and F=9.70,p=0.001) and (F=36.63,p=0.001, F=11.99,p=0.001 and F=6.59,p=0.001), respectively. A group comparison of the pain intensity, depression and anxiety scores of participants in the NSEG, NSDEG and NDEG at the baseline of the study revealed that there were no significant differences in the pain intensity and depression and anxiety scores among the three groups:p=0.159, 0.58 and 0.179, respectively. At week 4 of the study, however, a significant difference in pain intensity and anxiety scores across the three groups was recorded –p=0.018,p=0.011, respectively, but no significant difference was noted in depression scores (p=0.93). At week 8 of the study, it was determined that there were significant differences in pain intensity and depression scoresp=0.001 andp=0.041, but no significant dissimilarities in the anxiety scores.Post hocrevealed that only pain was significant and lay with NSEG.Conclusions:The study concluded that the stabilisation, dynamic and stabilisation, plus dynamic exercises were effective in relieving pain and reducing depression and anxiety in patients with NsNP. However, stabilisation showed a more marked effect than the combination exercises of stabilisation plus dynamic exercises, and dynamic exercises in reducing pain intensity in patients with NsNP.Implications:It is recommended that stabilisation exercises be chosen over stabilisation plus dynamic exercises, or dynamic exercise, while treating patients with NsNP. However, both are effective.