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Background. Lateral epicondylitis, or tennis elbow, is the prevalent cause of elbow pain among adults. Collagen injections are used to treat different musculoskeletal disorders. Type I porcine collagen has proved to enhance tendon repair in vitro. Aims of the present pilot study were to verify the effects of type I porcine collagen injections on pain and disability in patients with tennis elbow and therefore to check if there are grounds for carry out a randomized controlled trial. Methods. Fifty patients, who have been suffering lateral epicondylitis for at least 6 months, were treated with a series of 5 type I porcine collagen injections, at weekly intervals. The Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation questionnaire was employed to verify the effects of collagen injections at 1-month and 3-month follow-up. Results. As regards the baseline, the total score showed an average reduction of 57% (55% in terms of pain and 58% in terms of function) at 1-month follow-up and an average reduction of 66.1% (68.9% in terms of pain and 63.2% in terms of function) at 3-month follow-up. The results were statistically significant (p<0.05) according to the Kruskal-Wallis test. Conclusions. Up until now there were no studies about treatment of tennis elbow with collagen injections. Compared to other regenerative injection therapies, collagen injections seemed to be one of the most effective and fast-acting. The positive findings of this pilot study can be the bases for conducting clinical trials with higher level of evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Muscle spasticity causes disability in children with cerebral palsy. Extracorporeal shockwave therapy has proved to be effective in managing hypertonic muscles. Shear wave elastography can objectively assess tissue elasticity properties. The aim of the present study was to 1) evaluate the effectiveness of defocused extracorporeal shockwaves in reducing sole-us muscle contracture in a group of children with cerebral palsy by using point shear wave elastography, and 2) analyse the correlation between the Modified Ashworth Scale and ultrasound elasticity index. Methods. Children with spastic cerebral palsy (n = 21) were administered extracorporeal shockwave therapy (5 sessions at weekly interval, 500 defocused shock- waves per session, 0.25 mJ/mm², 3 Hz). The effects were measured by means of point shear wave elastography 1, 3, and 6 months after therapy. Results. Linear mixed effects modelling showed significant reduction of muscle stiffness, with the predicted greatest effect at the 13th week after completion of treatment. Analysis of covariance confirmed the correlation between the Modified Ashworth Scale and ultrasound elasticity index. Conclusions. Point shear wave elastography confirmed the effectiveness of defocused extracorporeal shockwaves in reducing muscles contracture in children with cerebral palsy. We recommend the use of this technique for the clinical assessment of spastic patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. COVID-19 outbreak had a massive worldwide impact and several countermeasures to contain its spread have been adopted, such as the interruption of non-urgent outpatient clinics. We wanted to describe the effects of the national lockdown on the well-being of a cohort of Italian patients with musculoskeletal disorders receiving infiltrative treatment. Methods. 40 patients who received intra- or peri-articular treatment were surveyed using a structuralised questionnaire that assessed their well-being during the first national lockdown. Results. 24 out of 40 patients (60%) did not come back after the re-opening of the Clinic because they were afraid of the pandemic. Of these 24 patients, the 83.3% noticed increased pain and stiffness in the joint. Due to the lockdown, the patient's quality of life was reduced by 61.66 ± 15.72%. After the lockdown, for the 92% of patients, the infiltrative treatment was perceived as more important than before, the 83% of patients perceived long-term security of infiltrative therapy availability as very important, and the 72% of the patients perceived the lockdown as inadequate. Conclusions. The infiltrative outpatient clinic's interruption was seen to significantly worsen the physical condition of subjects with musculoskeletal disorders, with an important increase in both articular pain and stiffness. Therefore, any kind of infiltrative treatment suspension or delay should be avoided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]