The current issue of Physical Therapy Reviews includes a number of papers focussing on several aspects of musculoskeletal and orthopaedic physiotherapy, ranging from reviews of effectiveness, to patients’ lived experience, and novel treatments and areas of practice.
In their paper on congential muscular torticollis in infants, Bradley Poole and Swati Kale from the University of East Anglia (UK) [Citation1] report results from a systematic review of the effectiveness of stretching of affected sternocleidomastoid. Although stretching is a common part of physiotherapy management of the condition, there has to date been limited synthesis of the available literature. While the authors note the variable quality of the papers published to date, findings (from five randomised controlled trials and two cohort studies) indicate the potential benefits of such treatment, especially when applied early.
Sarah Bennett and colleagues from University of West of England (UK) have reviewed the evidence on the lived experiences of people suffering from Joint Hypermobility Syndrome (JHS) and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS): connective tissue disorders causing joint instability and pain, and in turn anxiety and poor quality of life [Citation2]. Their thematic synthesis highlights a number of important issues, including a perceived lack of professional understanding, and social stigma associated with the disorders. This is an important and – to date – under-researched area, with further research clearly needed.
Manual therapy is a common option for treatment of pain and associated disability in cervicogenic and tension-type headaches. Matthew Coelho and colleagues from Josh Cleland’s group at Franklin Pierce University (NH, USA) [Citation3] have assessed the evidence for the effectiveness of manual therapy, finding no clear benefit over conservative treatment in cervicogenic headache, but short term benefits in tension-type headaches in the short term (up to 4 weeks). This notwithstanding, as the authors note, the quality of the studies as assessed by the Cochrane risk of bias tool are limited (moderate to high risk).
Arguably one of the most significant and exciting advances in medicine over the last decade is the rapid development of stem cell therapy. Tony Wright and Sophie Allen from Curtin University in Australia have looked at the potential impact and implications for physiotherapy in use of autologous and allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells to treat knee osteoarthritis, noting the current lack of research on rehabilitation protocols, despite the clear short term benefits of these procedures [Citation4].
Editor-in-Chief [email protected]
Centre for Health, Activity and Rehabilitation Research, School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
References
- Poole B, Kale S. The effectiveness of stretching for infants with congenital muscular torticollis. Phys Ther Rev. 2019;24(1-2):2–11.
- Bennett S, Walsh N, Moss T, et al. The lived experience of Joint Hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes: A systematic review and thematic synthesis. Phys Ther Rev. 2019;24(1-2):12–28.
- Coelho M, Ela N, Garvin A et al. The effectiveness of manipulation and mobilization on pain and disability in individuals with cervicogenic and tension-type headaches: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Phys Ther Rev. 2019;24(1-2):29–43.
- Allen SR, Wright A. Stem cell therapy for knee osteoarthritis: a narrative review of a rapidly evolving treatment with implications for physical therapy management. Phys Ther Rev. 2019;24(1-2);44–50.