Water quality perceptions and private well management: The role of perceived risks, worry and control

Mismanagement of drinking water supplies can pose serious public health risks. There are many concerns about water source management among private well owners, as they are often solely responsible for maintaining their wells, and monitoring and testing of their own water quality. Lack of worry about contamination and a strong sense of control over risks in relation to drinking water quality have been identified as important factors that influence peoples' perceptions and behaviour. In this paper, we investigated how worry and perceived control moderate the influence of risk perceptions on water quality perceptions and well owners' maintenance behaviours. We compare a sample of private well owners (N = 167) with a sample of members of Group Water Schemes (GWS) (N = 160) and people who are supplied via the public mains (N = 195), to validate our results. We found that, in comparison to the other groups, well owners believe that water from private wells is superior and they express a higher level of control over contamination risks of their drinking water. Moreover, strong feelings of control suppress their perceptions of risk in relation to water quality. However, well owners who feel largely in control also maintain their well more frequently. We discuss the implications of these results for communication strategies with well owners.

A critical overview of the current myofascial pain literature - July 2020

We are sad to report that following this issue, Dr. Li-Wei Chou will no longer be able to contribute to this quarterly literature overview. Unfortunately, his work responsibilities have increased to such an extent that they need to take priority. On behalf of the team, we would like to thank Dr. Chou for his thoughtful and balanced reviews during the past few years. Not only were we able to include an occasional Chinese-language study, he also was able to assist us in interpreting more complex medical studies. Li-Wei, we wish you all the best professionally and personally, and of course, we cannot wait until our paths will cross again sometime in the future! You may have noted that this overview article was missing from the January 2020 issue of the journal due to an administrative mix up. With the current issue we aimed to catch up and therefore, you will find a greater number of reviewed articles than usual. It becomes increasingly challenging to cover the wide range of the published myofascial pain and trigger point (TrP) literature just due to its volume. In this edition, we included 10 basic research articles, 4 reviews, 14 articles on dry needling (DN), acupuncture, and injections, 3 on manual therapies, and 4 on other clinical approaches.

A critical overview of the current myofascial pain literature - January 2020

We are starting 2020 with 6 basic research studies, 9 review articles, 14 dry needling/injection studies, and one manual therapy paper for a total of 30 new papers. Topics range from studies on mechanisms, inflammatory mediators in myofascial pain, fascia, screening, Platelet-rich plasma intramuscular injections, and temporal summation to clinical studies on patients with tension-type headache, chronic pelvic pain, knee osteoarthritis, plantar fasciitis, generalized musculoskeletal pain, neck pain, breast cancer, tendinopathies, thoracic outlet syndrome, and canine dry needling, among others.

Myofascial pain and treatment: Editorial a critical overview of the current myofascial pain literature - August 2019

This quarter's overview of the myofascial pain literature includes quite a few basic research papers in addition to the usual high quantity of dry needling (DN) papers. Of particular interest are a study by Fischer and colleagues studying the role of mitochondrial functions in chronic trigger points (TrPs) (Fischer et al 2018), a study by Li and associates who conducted a quantitative proteomics analysis to identify biomarkers of chronic myofascial pain and therapeutic targets of dry needling in a rat model of TrPs (Li et al 2019), and a sonography study by Mitchell et al. looking into the distances from the skin to the pleura in the context of DN (Mitchell et al 2019). A total of 33 papers are included in this overview article. We welcome Dr. Jacob Thorp to our team of authors. Dr. Thorp is a US-based physical therapist. He is Professor and Founding Director of the Physical Therapy Program at Charleston Southern University in North Charleston, SC.

A critical overview of the current myofascial pain literature - February 2019

This edition of the overview of current myofascial pain literature features several interesting and important publications. From Australia, Braithwaite and colleagues completed an outstanding systematic review of blinding procedures used in dry needling (DN) studies. Other papers tackled the interrater reliability of the identification of trigger points (TrP), the presence of muscle hardness related to latent TrPs, pelvic floor examination techniques, and the links between TrPs, headaches and shoulder pain. Israeli researchers developed a theoretical model challenging the contributions of the Cinderella Hypothesis to the development of TrPs. As in almost all issues, we included many DN, injection and acupuncture studies, which continue to be the focus of researchers all over the world.

A critical overview of the current myofascial pain literature - November 2018

This is the first issue of this review column since the passing of Dr. Leon Chaitow. We would like to take a brief moment to acknowledge how much his mentorship, friendship, and confidence have meant to us. Leon was a force in osteopathic and naturopathic medicine and his influence reaches to all corners of the musculoskeletal realm crossing over many disciplines through his lectures, workshops, and of course, his many books, editorials, and articles. In the foreword to one of his books, Jan Dommerholt wrote that "Leon Chaitow […] continued the work of Travell and Simons, but also of many others, whose contributions he has skillfully woven into an intricate tapestry of clinical pearls, practical tips, and solid evidence-informed research." Dr. Chaitow was a synthesizer, who always considered what different clinicians and researchers could possibly contribute to a better understanding of pain and dysfunction and provide real solutions to real problems. Even when he would not necessarily agree with all suggested remedies, he maintained an open mind and was able to take a step back and consider the bigger picture. For example, Leon was not a big fan of dry needling, yet, he valued the importance of this approach and encouraged the inclusion of dry needling papers in this review article and in his journal. The Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies became his baby and, considering the growth of the journal, there is no question that Leon's intense focus and efforts are appreciated by many around the globe. We wish to extend our condolences to Leon's wife Alkmini and daughter Sasha. He will surely be missed, but we can find peace in knowing that his legacy will stay with us forever. In this issue, we have included several basic myofascial pain research articles. As usual, dry needling (DN) studies and case reports are the most commonly referenced papers, but we also included neuroscience and electromyography studies, sleep studies, interrater reliability studies, and case reports of adverse events.

A critical overview of the current myofascial pain literature - July 2018

In the current issue of this clinical overview, we are pleased to include several basic research studies ranging from the differentiation of radicular and non-radicular low back pain based on the presence of trigger points (TrPs) to the role of TrPs in patients with osteoarthritis, the diagnostic criteria of TrP, the accurate placement of needles in the piriformis muscle with dry needling (DN), and the reliability of TrP identification, among others. As usual, there are many new DN studies, but also several review papers, and manual TrP research. Contributing authors come from as many as 15 different countries!

A critical overview of the current myofascial pain literature - April 2018

Twenty-four basic and clinical studies and case reports are included in this quarterly review of the myofascial pain literature. The majority of publications focus on invasive techniques, especially dry needling. We hope, that this not suggest that clinicians and researchers are slowly moving away from manual trigger point (TrP) approaches. While some physiotherapists have bought into the notion that hands-on approaches are a thing of the past, since "pain is in the brain" and "the issues are not in the tissues," there is also a body of research that aims to combine so-called top-down and bottom-up therapies. Combining manual therapy and dry needling with pain neuroscience education is likely the preferred method using a multimodal approach (Puentedura and Flynn, 2016; Lluch Girbes et al., 2015).

A critical overview of the current myofascial pain literature - January 2018

The majority of papers included in the quarterly review discuss various aspects of dry needling (DN), which continues to be of interest to researchers and clinicians. A study by Liu et al. is the first paper to examine the effects of DN of acetylcholine, esterase and receptors. The study provides support for the integrated trigger point hypothesis and for DN. A paper by Hightower and colleagues found an intriguing link between low magnesium levels in the drink water supply, vitamin D, and myofascial pain, cancer, tendon ruptures, and colon polyps. Contributions originated in the Brazil, China, Germany, Iran, India, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, and the US.

A critical overview of the current myofascial pain literature - June 2017

We would like to welcome Dr. Li-Wei Chou, MD, PhD as our newly appointed contributing author. Dr. Chou is Assistant Professor at China Medical University in Taichung, Taiwan and he has an impressive publication record with many research studies and book chapters. The current overview includes several articles comparing dry needling (DN) to acupuncture with sharply contrasting points of view. Several basic studies shed further light on the nature of myofascial pain, myalgia, fascia and examination techniques, such as sonoelastography. Neuroimaging studies demonstrated microstructural abnormalities in brain gray matter of chronic myofascial pain patients, which is an important new finding. As usual, many manual TrP papers and DN papers were published in the past several months.

A critical overview of the current myofascial pain literature - March 2017

After two years of having contributed to this overview series of articles, we sadly say goodbye to Dr. Rob Grieve. We would like to thank Dr. Grieve for his insightful contributions and analyses of the myofascial pain literature. Dr. Grieve would have preferred to continue, but his many university and research responsibilities had to take priority. We are looking forward to reviewing his future research endeavors in this article. We are pleased that Dr. Li-Wei Chou, MD, PhD has agreed to replace Dr. Grieve and join our team. Dr. Chou is Assistant Professor at China Medical University in Taichung, Taiwan and he has an impressive publication record with many research studies and book chapters. In this edition of the overview article, we once again have included articles from around the world with a combination of basic research and clinical studies and case reports. The majority of papers deal with dry needling, but there are also several more basic research studies and manual therapy papers.

A critical overview of the current myofascial pain literature - September 2016

This edition of the overview of the current myofascial pain literature includes 24 studies, case reports and systematic and narrative reviews. Surprisingly, five of the 24 papers were difficult to read and interpret mostly because of a poor mastery of the English language. It is somewhat surprising that journal editors and reviewers would accept papers that are needlessly difficult to read and not direct the authors to language services or others who could improve the quality of the writings. Of course, it is exciting that researchers and clinicians from all over the world continue to focus on myofascial pain and attempt to shed new light on the complexity of the problem to improve the clinical decision-making process and eventually clinical approaches and outcomes. There were no new papers on manual therapies, but many focused on dry needling.

A critical overview of the current myofascial pain literature - March 2016

The worldwide interest in myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) and trigger points (TrPs) is reflected in the increasing number of publications. In this overview of the literature, we included 26 studies, case reports and review articles by authors from 18 different countries. Several research groups are exploring the characteristic of TrPs such as Chen and colleagues, who continued their work on the quantification of the taut bands. Meng and colleagues studied the relationships between TrPs and central sensitization, while Yu and colleagues examined the electrophysiological characteristics that occur as a result of active TrPs. Several researchers used objective measurements to determine clinical outcomes, such as Koppenhaver and colleagues who measured objective changes in the function and nociceptive sensitivity of lumbar multifidus muscle subjects with low back pain. Turo and colleagues quantified muscle tissue changes after dry needling in chronic myofascial pain using elastography. Multiple studies explored various treatment options for TrPs, such as dry needling, injections with lidocaine or granisetron, traditional Thai massage, self-myofascial release, kinesiotaping, and monochromatic infrared photo energy, among others.