The Persian version of KPS is a reliable and valid outcome measure of disability and seems to be a suitable instrument for use in clinical practice of Iranian patients with chronic PFPS.

Background:Due to the fundamental role of gripping in most upper limb activities, grip strength promotion is a chief goal in the treatment of patients with upper limb musculoskeletal disorders. Kinesio taping is a novel and effective therapeutic technique believed to facilitate muscle contraction through stimulating mechanoreceptors and increasing the sensory feedback around the taped region.Objectives:The present study aimed to identify the best region (flexor, extensor and flexor/extensor regions) and time (immediate, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 hours) of forearm Kinesio taping to obtain the maximum improvement in grip strength.Materials and Methods:In this longitudinal study, 40 healthy men and women (the mean age of 22.3 ± 2.19 years) were selected among students of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran by simple, nonrandom sampling method. A dynamometer was used to measure grip strength immediately and every 30 minutes during the two hours after I-shaped application of tape (with 50% stretch) to the flexor, extensor, and flexor/extensor forearm muscles.Results:Grip strength was significantly increased in various muscle groups for males (P = 0.002) and females (P = 0.000) of the forearm and at different intervals for males (P = 0.000) and females (P = 0.000). Moreover, in both men and women, tape application to the extensor region provided greater grip strength compared to taping of the flexor and flexor/extensor regions (P = 0.000 for both). Furthermore, the maximum increase in grip strength were 0.5 (10.8% increase, P = 0.001) and 1.5 h (23.9% increase, P = 0.000) after taping in males and females, respectively.Conclusions:Taping the extensor region of forearm is recommended to achieve higher grip strength. Although grip strength increased at a slower pace in females than males, the final values were higher in women.

IntroductionThird molar surgery is almost one of the most frequent procedures performed by maxillofacial surgeons. The surgical trauma leads to post-operation complications such as pain, inflammation and trismus.1 About 3-5 hours following surgery, the pain reaches its maximum intensity and may last 2-3 days; and then diminishes within 7 days after surgery.2,3 Moreover, post-operative inflammation disappears 5-7 days after surgery. 4 It has been recommended to use local or systemic steroid and non-steroid anti-inflammatory therapy to reduce inflammation and relieve pain after molar surgery, but these drugs present some side effects, including gastrointestinal issues, systemic bleeding and allergic reactions.5 Several studies have demonstrated that laser therapy can accelerate cell and tissue reconstruction as well as relieve post-operative pain. 5,6 Laser therapy is an open research field. However, some studies have shown useful findings in treatment of dentin hypersensitivity, temporomandibular joint disorders, inferior alveolar nerve paraesthesia resulting from third molar surgery, sagittal osteotomy, trigeminal neuralgia, labial herpes, aphthous ulcers and post-chemotherapy and ray inflammation. [7][8][9][10][11][12] As there are conflicting findings regarding the effectiveness of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) and the importance of controlling third molar surgery's complications, this study aimed to assess the effect of LLLT on pain, swelling and maximum mouth opening in patients undergoing third molar surgery. In this study, we increased the number and variety of studied groups in order to reduce the error rate, in comparison to former researches. To eliminate the possible differences between several people in relevance to pain amount and also their reports on it, a bilateral surgery group was used to study the effects of LLLT on the post-operation pain and swelling. On the other hand, as maximum mouth The aim of this study was to assess the effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on pain, swelling and maximum mouth opening in patients undergoing third molar surgery. Methods: A prospective, randomized double-blind study was undertaken on 44 patients at the Dental School, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, in 2015. A lowlevel laser was randomly applied on one of the two sides after surgery of 15 patients. The experimental side received 18 J/cm 2 of energy density, wavelength of 980 nm, and output power of 1.8 W. On the control side, a hand-piece was applied intra-orally, but laser was not activated. In addition, in order to evaluate trismus, 13 patients were treated by unilateral laser therapy and 16 patients did not receive laser therapy at all. The laser was administered intraorally on two points of vestibular and lingual sides at 1 cm from the surgery site, and extraorally at the emergence of the masseter muscle, immediately after surgery, and repeated 24 hours later. The pain, swelling and maximum mouth opening (MMO) were compared between the two groups at 24 hours and a week after surger...

The aim of this investigation was to culturally translate and validate the Functional Index Questionnaire (FIQ) and Modified FIQ (MFIQ) in patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). A sample of 100 patients with PFPS completed the FIQ and MFIQ, and Short-Form 36 (SF-36) Health Survey in the first session. The FIQ and MFIQ were re-administered to a sample of 47 patients to evaluate test-retest reliability. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency were evaluated by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach's alpha coefficient, respectively. Corrected item-total correlations and construct validity were assessed by Spearman's rank correlation. Factor analysis was performed on all items of the Persian FIQ and MFIQ to determine the number of underlying factors and the items which load on each factor. An acceptable level of test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.84, 0.85) and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.79, 0.82) was obtained for both the Persian FIQ and MFIQ, respectively. Item-total correlations were greater than 0.40 for all but two questions of the Persian FIQ and all but four questions of the Persian MFIQ. A total of two factors were detected for each questionnaire. There were moderate to low correlations between the Persian FIQ/MFIQ and SF-36. Persian FIQ and MFIQ are two reliable and valid outcome measures of functional limitation and it seems that they are suitable for use in clinical practice of patients with chronic PFPS.

[Purpose] The objective of this research was to examine the impact of cognitive load on the flexion relaxation phenomenon (FRP) during trunk flexion and return from flexion task. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-two healthy subjects (18 males, 4 females) participated in the study. Each participant was exposed to 3 experimental conditions: no cognitive task, easy cognitive task and difficult cognitive task. Surface electromyography was used to measure lumbar erector spinae muscles activity level. Flexion relaxation ratio (FRR) was compared in order to assess the differences between the three experimental conditions during flexion and extension (FLX FRR and EXT FRR). [Results] The FRR was decreased with increase in cognitive difficulty; the difficult cognitive task was associated with significant lower value of FLX FRR in both sides. However, these changes were not significant in easy cognitive task. In addition, the EXT FRR was decreased in cognitive task conditions, but these results were not statistically significant except for difficult cognitive task condition in comparison to no cognitive task condition in left side. [Conclusion] These findings suggest that cognitive loading can affect FRP in healthy subjects.