[Physical therapy: prospects for the systematic development]

The role of tuning fork in the evaluation of musculoskeletal disorders and pallesthesia: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Musculoskeletal and neurological conditions disorders are important conditions that need to be assessed in clinical practice. The tuning fork (TF) has been proposed as a practical tool to investigate suspected fractures and for the evaluation of pallesthesia in subjects with peripheral neuropathy.

OBJECTIVE

the aim of this study is to define whether the tuning fork can be useful in the clinical evaluation of patients with musculoskeletal disorders and deep somatosensory dysfunctions.

METHODS

This scoping review was performed in accordance with Joanna Briggs Institute. MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, PEDro, CINAHL, Web of Science, UpToDate, Scopus Database were consulted.

RESULTS

14 studies were included in the final analysis. Nine studies regard the use of tuning fork to detect fractures. If the tuning fork was used with a stethoscope, the test reached a high sensitivity ranging between 83% and 94%. Five studies investigated the tool to evaluate pallesthesia dysfunctions among which possible differences between biceps femoris strain and simple clinical rules for detecting peripheral neuropathy.

CONCLUSION

The 128 Hz tuning fork could be potentially useful to detect some type of traumatic fractures. The Rydel-Seiffer tuning fork appears to be a useful tool for assessing potential nerve conduction deficits in the evaluation of pallesthesia.

[Physical factors in the medical rehabilitation of patients with chronic cerebral ischemia in the outpatient stage]

Chronic cerebral ischemia is an urgent problem of modern medicine due to high disability of this contingent of patients and requires new approaches to the treatment and medical rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE

To develop a new technology for medical rehabilitation of the patients with chronic cerebral ischemia on an outpatient basis using therapeutic physical factors (such as ozone therapy and magnetic field in combination with endomassage) against the background of rational pharmacotherapy and psychocorrection.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

There have been observed 122 patients with chronic cerebral ischemia stage I. They were divided into three groups by simple randomization. The patients of the group of comparison 1 (GC1) (n=39) had neurotropic pharmacotherapy (Cerepro and Mexidol) and a group psychotherapy; the rehabilitation programme of the patients of the group of comparison 2 (GC2) (n=41) included ozone therapy (intravenous infusions of ozone-oxygen mixture) in addition to the treatment program of GC1; the patients of the main group (MG) (n=42) received a combination of magnetic field exposure and endomassage in addition to the treatment program of GC2. Clinical monitoring, coagulation hemostasis, and cerebral vascular ultrasound were used to assess the treatment efficiency.

RESULTS

The rehabilitation treatment performed on an outpatient basis with the inclusion of ozone therapy and the combined effect of magnetic field and endomassage in MG ensured the leveling of clinical symptoms in 91.2% of cases (p<0.01). The efficiency of rehabilitation in GC1 was 74.4%, with the additional use of ozone therapy in GC2 - 82.6%.

CONCLUSION

The use of the new technology with the use of intravenous infusions of ozone-oxygen mixture and magnetic field in combination with endomassage against the background of rational pharmacotherapy and psychocorrection in medical rehabilitation of the patients with chronic cerebral ischemia on an outpatient basis provides a reliably significant increase in the effectiveness of rehabilitation measures.