I have developed "tennis elbow" from lugging this book around the past four weeks, but it is worth the pain, the effort, and the aspirin. It is also worth the (relatively speaking) bargain price. Including appendixes, this book contains 894 pages of text. The entire panorama of the neural sciences is surveyed and examined, and it is comprehensive in its scope, from genomes to social behaviors. The editors explicitly state that the book is designed as "an introductory text for students of biology, behavior, and medicine," but it is hard to imagine any audience, interested in any fragment of neuroscience at any level of sophistication, that would not enjoy this book. The editors have done a masterful job of weaving together the biologic, the behavioral, and the clinical sciences into a single tapestry in which everyone from the molecular biologist to the practicing psychiatrist can find and appreciate his or

Principles of Neural Science

https://www.archives-pmr.org/article/S0003-9993(01)63215-5/pdf

Gait variability and fall risk in community-living older adults: A 1-year prospective study

The National Academy of Sciences through its Institute of Medicine (IOM) has produced a major scholarly assessment of pain in America. This document is a tremendous contribution to the evolving nec...

Relieving pain in america: a blueprint for transforming prevention, care, education, and research

Background
Osteoporosis is a condition resulting in an increased risk of skeletal fractures due to a reduction in the density of bone tissue. Treatment of osteoporosis typically involves the use of pharmacological agents. In general it is thought that disuse (prolonged periods of inactivity) and unloading of the skeleton promotes reduced bone mass, whereas mechanical loading through exercise increases bone mass.

Objectives
To examine the effectiveness of exercise interventions in preventing bone loss and fractures in postmenopausal women.

Search methods
During the update of this review we updated the original search strategy by searching up to December 2010 the following electronic databases: the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group's Trials Register; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library, 2010 Issue 12); MEDLINE; EMBASE; HealthSTAR; Sports Discus; CINAHL; PEDro; Web of Science; Controlled Clinical Trials; and AMED. We attempted to identify other studies by contacting experts, searching reference lists and searching trial registers.

Selection criteria
All randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that met our predetermined inclusion criteria.

Data collection and analysis
Pairs of members of the review team extracted the data and assessed trial quality using predetermined forms. For dichotomous outcomes (fractures), we calculated risk ratios (RRs) using a fixed-effect model. For continuous data, we calculated mean differences (MDs) of the percentage change from baseline. Where heterogeneity existed (determined by the I2 statistic), we used a random-effects model.

Main results
Forty-three RCTs (27 new in this update) with 4320 participants met the inclusion criteria. The most effective type of exercise intervention on bone mineral density (BMD) for the neck of femur appears to be non-weight bearing high force exercise such as progressive resistance strength training for the lower limbs (MD 1.03; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.24 to 1.82). The most effective intervention for BMD at the spine was combination exercise programmes (MD 3.22; 95% CI 1.80 to 4.64) compared with control groups. Fractures and falls were reported as adverse events in some studies. There was no effect on numbers of fractures (odds ratio (OR) 0.61; 95% CI 0.23 to 1.64). Overall, the quality of the reporting of studies in the meta-analyses was low, in particular in the areas of sequence generation, allocation concealment, blinding and loss to follow-up.

Authors' conclusions
Our results suggest a relatively small statistically significant, but possibly important, effect of exercise on bone density compared with control groups. Exercise has the potential to be a safe and effective way to avert bone loss in postmenopausal women.

https://www.essa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Osteoporosis_Cochrane-Review.pdf

Exercise for preventing and treating osteoporosis in postmenopausal women

Background
Muscle weakness in old age is associated with physical function decline. Progressive resistance strength training (PRT) exercises are designed to increase strength.

Objectives
To assess the effects of PRT on older people and identify adverse events.

Search methods
We searched the Cochrane Bone, Joint and Muscle Trauma Group Specialized Register (to March 2007), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library 2007, Issue 2), MEDLINE (1966 to May 01, 2008), EMBASE (1980 to February 06 2007), CINAHL (1982 to July 01 2007) and two other electronic databases. We also searched reference lists of articles, reviewed conference abstracts and contacted authors.

Selection criteria
Randomised controlled trials reporting physical outcomes of PRT for older people were included.

Data collection and analysis
Two review authors independently selected trials, assessed trial quality and extracted data. Data were pooled where appropriate.

Main results
One hundred and twenty one trials with 6700 participants were included. In most trials, PRT was performed two to three times per week and at a high intensity. PRT resulted in a small but significant improvement in physical ability (33 trials, 2172 participants; SMD 0.14, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.22). Functional limitation measures also showed improvements: e.g. there was a modest improvement in gait speed (24 trials, 1179 participants, MD 0.08 m/s, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.12); and a moderate to large effect for getting out of a chair (11 trials, 384 participants, SMD -0.94, 95% CI -1.49 to -0.38). PRT had a large positive effect on muscle strength (73 trials, 3059 participants, SMD 0.84, 95% CI 0.67 to 1.00). Participants with osteoarthritis reported a reduction in pain following PRT(6 trials, 503 participants, SMD -0.30, 95% CI -0.48 to -0.13). There was no evidence from 10 other trials (587 participants) that PRT had an effect on bodily pain. Adverse events were poorly recorded but adverse events related to musculoskeletal complaints, such as joint pain and muscle soreness, were reported in many of the studies that prospectively defined and monitored these events. Serious adverse events were rare, and no serious events were reported to be directly related to the exercise programme.

Authors' conclusions
This review provides evidence that PRT is an effective intervention for improving physical functioning in older people, including improving strength and the performance of some simple and complex activities. However, some caution is needed with transferring these exercises for use with clinical populations because adverse events are not adequately reported.

/pdf/progressive-resistance-strength-training-for-improving-1c2gf9cvhl.pdf

Progressive resistance strength training for improving physical function in older adults

Quadriceps muscle strength and dynamic stability in elderly persons

Objective

To determine whether the adduction moment at the knee during locomotor activity contributes to the development of future chronic knee pain.



Methods

We studied 132 community-dwelling elders who had undergone a full kinetic and kinematic motion analysis while performing 4 different activities: standing, walking, rising from a chair, and descending stairs. We contacted the participants 3–4 years after their baseline locomotion analysis and identified those who reported no knee pain at the time of motion analysis but who subsequently developed new chronic knee pain at followup. We examined whether the development of new chronic knee pain was associated with higher peak adduction moment at the knee during activities, measured at baseline.



Results

Of the 132 elders evaluated in 1995–1996, 118 (89%) were contacted in 1999. Of the 118 contacted, 80 (mean age 75 years; 78% women) had no lower extremity prosthetic joints at baseline, no known underlying inflammatory arthritis at baseline nor followup, and no baseline knee pain. At followup, 7 had developed new chronic knee pain defined as pain or stiffness on most days of the month and with walking 2 blocks or using stairs. Compared with those who did not develop knee pain, those who did develop new chronic knee pain had higher baseline adduction moments for all activities (P = 0.01), ranging from 8% higher during chair rise to 39% higher during stair descent.



Conclusion

We found that greater adduction moment at the knee during activities contributes to the development of future chronic knee pain. Our results suggest that biomechanical factors may play an important role in the pathogenesis of knee pain and should be studied further.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/art.20396

Knee adduction moment and development of chronic knee pain in elders

The relationship between the position of a body's center of gravity (CG) as determined by a whole body kinematic model and that given by 3 CG position estimation techniques using the ground reaction force center of pressure (CP) has been investigated in this study. The CG and CP are related by the Newtonian mechanics equations of motion. Data required to determine directly the center of gravity position, a key variable in posture and locomotion, are usually not obtained in posture or gait trials; rather, force plate data and center of pressure data are often obtained. Consequently, previous studies have developed estimations of CG position history from CP data. The results of 3 CP-based CG estimations methods are here compared with kinematically determined CG positions in humans. The CP position varies about the CG position and has a higher frequency content than the motion of the CG. This observation, based on the authors' data and mechanics theory, provides the basis for the methods considered in this study. All current methods employ a filtering technique to obtain CG position from CP position time histories during standing trials. In most cases the mean square error is less than 0.1 cm/sup 2/. Finite-duration impulse response filters with periods of 1.0 s to 1.50 s gave the best results when compared with the CG position based on kinematic data. A low-pass filter with cutoff frequency of 0.4 Hz to 0.5 Hz provides the best comparison for this approximation method. The accuracy of the methods diminishes as more dynamics are introduced to the trial. The average mean square differences for walking-in-place trials is from 1 to 10 times greater than that for the standing. CG position estimates from CP data must be interpreted cautiously when nonstatic tasks are monitored, especially in unstable patients. >

Biomechanical relationship between center of gravity and center of pressure during standing

Vestibular rehabilitation (VR) is increasingly popular, but few data exist to support enthusiasts' claims of efficacy in improving functional abilities of patients with bilateral vestibular hypofunction (BVH). A double-blind, controlled study of eight subjects (mean, 64 +/- 12 years; seven females, one male) with bilateral vestibular hypofunction was conducted. Subjects in group A received 8 weeks of VR followed by 8 weeks of home VR exercises, whereas those in group B received 8 weeks of control treatment (isometric strengthening exercises) followed by 8 weeks of VR. At the end of 8 weeks, group A walked 8% faster and, during paced gait and stair-climbing, with greater stability, evidenced by a 10% larger maximum moment arm and a 17% decreased double-support duration during gait and stair stance. Group B improved less than 1% during the control treatment. Self-reported Dizziness Handicap Inventory scores did not differ significantly between control and active VR. All subjects improved compared with baseline tests at the 16-week post-test on both functional testing and on the Self-reported Dizziness Handicap Inventory scale. We conclude that in this small sample, VR effectively improved functional, dynamic stability during locomotion, but even strengthening exercises result in self-reported symptomatic improvement.

Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Rehabilitation for Bilateral Vestibular Hypofunction: Preliminary Report:

Contact of the hand with a stationary surface attenuates postural sway in normal individuals even when the level of force applied is mechanically inadequate to dampen body motion. We studied whether subjects without vestibular function would be able to substitute contact cues from the hand for their lost labyrinthine function and be able to balance as well as normal subjects in the dark without finger contact. We also studied the relative contribution of sight of the test chamber to the two groups. Subjects attempted to maintain a tandem Romberg stance for 25 s under three levels of fingertip contact: no contact; light-touch contact, up to 1 N (approximately 100 g) force; and unrestricted contact force. Both eyes open and eyes closed conditions were evaluated. Without contact, none of the vestibular loss subjects could stand for more than a few seconds in the dark without falling; all the normals could. The vestibular loss subjects were significantly more stable in the dark with light touch of the index finger than the normal subjects in the dark without touch. They also swayed less in the dark with light touch than when permitted sight of the test chamber without touch, and less with sight and touch than just sight. The normal subjects swayed less in the dark with touch than without, and less with sight and touch than sight alone. These findings show that during quiet stance light touch of the index finger with a stationary surface can be as effective or even more so than vestibular function for minimizing postural sway.

David E. Krebs

Papers

Quadriceps muscle strength and dynamic stability in elderly persons

Knee adduction moment and development of chronic knee pain in elders

Biomechanical relationship between center of gravity and center of pressure during standing

Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Rehabilitation for Bilateral Vestibular Hypofunction: Preliminary Report:

Precision contact of the fingertip reduces postural sway of individuals with bilateral vestibular loss.