Attitudes and beliefs of Belgian caregivers concerning low back pain

Amandine Poulain (1), Marijke Leysen (2,3), Nathalie Roussel (2), Anne Berquin (4) Published in the journal : April 2018 Category : Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine

Background: Health care practitioners’ attitudes and beliefs concerning low back pain (LBP) have been reported to influence their patients’ prognosis. No specific information is available concerning Belgian caregivers. Methods: Validated questionnaires were filled in by 98 participants, such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and nurses, prior to attending educational programs about LBP. Results: Biomedical attitudes and beliefs are widely prevalent in Belgium, even among participants claiming to understand the guidelines, with median scores on the biomedical and psychosocial scales of the Health Care Providers’ Pain and Impairment Relationship Scale and of the Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale for Physiotherapists of 31, 35, and 50, respectively. Discussion: This study highlights the need of continuous education on biopsychosocial management of LBP patients.

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Transcutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation (TPTNS) in managing urinary incontinence

Nathalie Bredohl(1), François Pallatzky(2), Lauranne Goffioul(3), Florence Manto(4), Jean-François Fils(5), Jean-François Kaux(6) Published in the journal : January 2018 Category : Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine

Up to 25% of women may be affected by urinary incontinence. Peripheral stimulation of posterior tibial nerve in the retromalleolar region can be proposed in certain cases of urinary incontinence. In this report, we conducted a follow-up on 268 patients suffering from incontinence and treated by the means of neuromodulation. The study analysis demonstrated significant success rates in patients with stress urinary incontinence, as well as in those with mixed incontinence.

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Contribution of new technologies in motor and cognitive rehabilitation of brain-injured patients

Stéphanie Dehem, Gaëtan Stoquart, Vincenza Montedoro, Martin Edwards, Sophie Heins, Bruno Dehez, Thierry Lejeune Published in the journal : February 2017 Category : Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine

Following cerebral injury, motor and cognitive disorders are common, and rehabilitation can prove challenging, for both patients and therapists. In recent years, robotics and serious games have been widely developed in this area in order to increase the functional recovery of patients. Robotics enable an intensification of therapy, assist patients in moving, and provide prompt feedback. As for the serious games, they make reeducation more funny and motivating; furthermore, the game’s difficulty level continuously adapts to the patient’s performances. These two complementary technologies do appear promising for the rehabilitation of brain-injured patients 

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Quantitative gait analysis: principles and clinical applications

S. Lobet, C. Hermans , Ch. Detrembleur Published in the journal : April 2016 Category : Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine

Walking is a set of repetitive cyclical movements in the three planes of space. This complex process involves not only the lower-limb joints, but also the entire body. Walking may be impaired by a variety of musculoskeletal disorders of peripheral/central neurological, muscular, or osteoarticular origin, associated with compensatory mechanisms such as limping.

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Short-, medium-, and longterm benefits of a back school program: retrospective study on 394 patients with chronic low back pain

V. De Bolle, L. Barras, P. Jassogne Published in the journal : April 2016 Category : Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine

Chronic low back pain is a common reason for medical consultation, with significant impact on functional and professional status of affected patients. Many treatments are available. One of these, a back school program, is a multidisciplinary approach involving therapeutic education and physical exercise. The variety of potential options to treat chronic low back pain and the difficulty of long-term follow-up were the main reasons leading us to carry out this study. Our back school protocol consists of therapeutic education, along with cognitive-behavioral approach and gradual musclestrengthening exercises. In this article, we have presented our experience with back school and our study results regarding 394 chronic low back pain patients assessed on the short- (end-ofprogram evaluation), medium- (6-month evaluation), and longterm (12-month evaluation). The study's main outcome parameters included the benefits of back school on pain, as well as its impact on quality of life, functional status, and professional status. Our back school protocol yielded significant benefits that were maintained over the mediumand long-term. Furthermore, we observed a high rate of patients returning to work.

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Novelties and innovations in physical medicine: What are the lessons learned from the year 2015?

S. Salazar Gajardo, T. Lejeune, S. Fizaine, I. de Biourge, G. Caty Published in the journal : February 2016 Category : Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine

In physical medicine and rehabilitation, the year 2015 was notably marked by the continued implementation of exercise medicine in Belgium, in addition to the publication of additional evidence and supplementary information regarding the usefulness of supervised exercise in the prevention and therapeutic management of chronic diseases. In addition, recent randomized controlled trials have been instrumental in supporting the need that physical exercise be integrated in the global management of cancer patients.

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