Physical therapy
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The plethora of terms included in the broad category of sympathetic dystrophies, and causalgia in particular, has made specific disorders, with unique clinical characteristics, very difficult to isolate into discrete clinical entities. Rather, the sympathetic dystrophies currently are regarded as existing along a continuum of varying severity and as having one basic pathophysiological mechanism, with considerable overlap of terms. The purposes of this article are 1) to review the theories of physiological mechanisms of causalgia and other forms of sympathetically maintained pain, 2) to describe their clinical characteristics, and 3) to discuss their physical therapy management.
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A longitudinal study of 15 entry-level postbaccalaureate degree graduates was conducted to determine whether their perceptions of the professional role of the physical therapist and of self in that role changed after employment had begun and whether a relationship exists between these perceptions and job satisfaction. Data were collected by mail using a semantic differential test for measuring role perceptions and a questionnaire that included items related to job satisfaction and to demographic data. The return rate was 93%. ⋯ Job satisfaction scores were relatively high among the subjects. Spearman correlation coefficients calculated between job satisfaction and role perception scores revealed a positive and direct relationship between three role concepts and job satisfaction. Results of this study provide information about the professional socialization process in physical therapy.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Effects of unilateral and bilateral auricular transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on cutaneous pain threshold.
This study compared the effects of unilateral and bilateral auricular transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on cutaneous pain threshold. Auricular acupuncture points were stimulated with low frequency, high intensity TENS for 45 seconds. Sixty healthy, adult subjects were assigned randomly to one of two treatment groups or to a control group. ⋯ Both unilateral and bilateral auricular stimulation groups exhibited a significant increase (p less than .05) in experimental pain threshold, but the control group did not. The mean change values between the unilateral and bilateral stimulation groups were not statistically different. These results suggest that both unilateral and bilateral auricular TENS can increase pain threshold.
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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Effects of interferential current stimulation for treatment of subjects with recurrent jaw pain.
This study evaluated the effectiveness of interferential current stimulation (ICS) to decrease recurrent jaw pain and to increase maximum vertical jaw opening. Forty subjects with either a history of recurrent jaw pain of three months' duration or of constant, chronic jaw pain that recurred within the preceding two months participated in the study. Twenty subjects received three 20-minute treatments of ICS, and 20 other subjects received three 20-minute treatments with a placebo procedure. ⋯ Scatter diagrams indicated no relationship between the intensity of jaw pain and amount of vertical jaw opening before or after treatment. Statistical tests (p less than .05) showed no significant differences in the level of jaw pain or the amount of maximum vertical jaw opening between the ICS and Placebo Groups. We concluded that a short-term ICS treatment proved no more effective than a placebo treatment for decreasing jaw pain or for increasing vertical jaw opening.
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The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of conventional low-intensity transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) waveform and frequency characteristics on experimentally induced acute pain. Each of 28 male subjects received six forms of TENS and one control treatment during a single testing session. Treatments used one of two waveforms (monophasic or biphasic) and one of three frequencies (30, 60, or 85 Hz) administered to the forearm. ⋯ The results indicated that waveform did not influence pain tolerance significantly. Pain tolerance, however, increased significantly at the frequency of 60 Hz but decreased significantly at both 30 and 85 Hz (p less than .05). We concluded that TENS frequency is an important factor in altering the subjects' perception of experimentally induced pain.