The Back School programme when compared with the passive physical therapies (such as massage, ultrasound treatment, etc.) shows significant improvement in reduction in pain and greatly improves the posture of healthcare workers. The adoption of the Back School programme for the treatment of the healthcare workers with chronic low back problems should be a treatment of choice and standard that should be adopted when designing occupational healthcare policies and procedures.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different types of mechanical stimulation of the sole on standing postural stability in healthy, young adults. Fifty subjects (34 women, 16 men; mean age 23 ± 2 (mean ± SE)) stood barefoot on fixed force plates both with open and closed eyes on firm surface and then on compliant surface (foam). A modified clinical test of sensory interaction on balance protocol was employed to assess the center of gravity (COG) excursions along anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) axes on each surface and visual condition. After the baseline measurement, a stimulation was applied with an elastic spiked layer topped to the firm and then foam surface, and the COG excursions were measured during the stimulation, and then at least 30 min after the stimulation of the spiked layer, we used 10 min of manual static and glide pressure applied to the plantar surface of both feet. Immediately after manual stimulation, static balance parameters were measured again. Results showed that after manual stimulation, the sway path with closed eyes decreased significantly on the AP and ML directions on firm surface conditions. The spiked layer caused significantly decreased sway path on firm platform in both directions, but it was ineffective on compliant surface. Our results established that the activation of plantar mechanoreceptors by 10-min manual stimulation can partially compensate subjects for the absence of visual input and the lack of accurate pressure information from the supporting surface, too.

Before the age of 9 years measurable data from neighbouring age groups differed significantly, indicating typical radiological changes of the joint. For the same age range, qualitative changes could also be observed. After 9 years of age, radiological development of the normal hip joint during childhood is much slower.

As part of the international campaign of the bone and joint decade, we aimed to present epidemiological data on the prevalence of major joint complaints in a Central European region. Ten thousand subjects aged between 14 and 65, selected randomly by the Hungarian central office of statistics from three counties in southern Hungary, were surveyed using our own questionnaire based on widely accepted scoring system in the literature, focusing on major degenerative joint complaints, and using the short form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire. We found that the prevalence of hip pain in the observed group was 22.2%, the prevalence of knee pain 30.3%, and frequent ankle pain occurred in 9.7%. The results of the SF-36 questionnaire showed that with the exception of social function, neither of the values of the examined health dimensions reached levels of other international surveys. Details of the survey and the possible causes of the higher prevalence are discussed, along with the results of the SF-36 questionnaire. RésuméEn collaboration avec la campagne internationale sur la bone and joint decade, notre but a été de mettre en évidence des données épidémiologiques sur la prévalence des lésions articulaires, dans une région du centre Europe. Pour cela, 10.000 patients âgés entre 14 et 65 ans ont été sélectionnés par l'Office Cental Hongrois de Statistiques, patients provenant de trois comtés du Sud de la Hongrie en usant d'un questionnaire, rempli par les patients euxmêmes et basé sur des scores largement acceptés par la population orthopédique et, notamment, le score SF 36. Nous avons trouvé une prédominance de douleur de la hanche dans ce groupe, avec un taux de 22,8%, le pourcentage de douleur du genou étant de 30,8% et, celle de la cheville, de 9,7%. Les résultats du questionnaire SF 36 ont montré qu'en dehors des problèmes sociaux, les valeurs retrouvées se situaient à des niveaux comparables à ceux d'autres études internationales. Les détails de cette étude et les étiologies possibles sont discutés avec les résultats du questionnaire SF 36.