Background: The relationship between chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain (CMP) and sleep is complex, where pain can lead to sleeping problems and lack of sleep can intensify the pain perception. Most previous studies relates to adults, but adolescents may also suffer from CMP, and there is a need for more knowledge regarding the relationships between CMP and sleeping problems, stress, anxiety, depression, and health status.

Objectives: To study background factors associated to CMP in first year Swedish high school students.

Methods: First year Swedish high school students (n=296) were invited to complete questionnaires on chronic pain (mannequin with 18 body regions), sleeping problems (Uppsala Sleep Inventory, four items scored from 1–5), stress (ELO questions, scored from 1–5), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, scored from 0–21), health status (EQ-5D, scored from 0 to 1, worst to best) and physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire, categorised into low, moderate and high levels). Stress and sleeping items were dichotomized into 1–3 points (best) vs 4–5 points (worst). Individuals scoring at least severe problems (4 points) at one or more sleeping items were classified as having severe sleeping problems. HADS were categorised as non-cases (0–7), possible7–10 and probable cases (11–21 points). Students were grouped as having CMP (pain present in ≥3 regions) or not (no chronic pain or chronic pain in 1–2 regions). Multiple logistic regression analyses (adjusted for sex) with CMP as dependent variable were performed in SPSS, version 24.

Results: 254 students (86% of total sample, 87 boys and 167 girls) with a mean age of 16.1 (SD 0.6) years participated in the study. CMP was present in 25 (9.8%) students with no differences between boys and girls (8.0% vs 10.8%; p=0.488). Having CMP was associated with reporting severe sleeping problems (OR 2.49, 95% CI: 1.06 to 5.81, p=0.035) with initiating sleep, maintaining sleep, early morning awakenings and/or not feeling restored after sleep in comparison to the other students. Students with CMP were more likely to be categorised as probable cases for anxiety (OR 3.06, 95% CI: 1.09 to 8.61, p=0.034), but there were no associations for possible cases for anxiety (OR 1.15, 95% CI: 0.38 to 3.51, p=0.800), possible cases (OR 2.03, 95% CI: 0.63 to 6.54), or probable cases for depression (OR 3.35, 95% CI: 0.33 to 33.83). There was a nearly significant association between stress and belonging to the CMP group (OR 2.31, 95% CI: 0.97 to 5.53, p=0.059). A higher self-reported health status was associated to a lower likelihood for CMP (OR 0.04, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.27, p=0.001). Distribution of physical activity levels of low, moderate and high was not significantly associated to having CMP in comparison with not having it.

Conclusions: One in ten high school students fulfilled criteria for having chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain. CMP was associated to sleeping problems, anxiety, and a worse health status. The results from this study may be used by school health-care professionals in their preventive work to promote student’s health.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared

Background/Purpose: Chronic widespread pain (CWP), one of the hallmarks of fibromyalgia, is not uncommon in adolescents and it has previously been shown that adolescents with pain often become young adults with pain. CWP often co-varies with anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms in adults, but the knowledge regarding this is small in youth and young adults.

The aim was to study the associations between CWP, anxiety, depression and stress in adolescents attending first year of high school.

Methods: A computerized questionnaire to 296 adolescents attending Swedish high school, with validated questions regarding presence and distribution of pain (Epipain mannequin), stress symptoms (ELO question), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale – HADS), and health related quality of life (HRQL as measured by EQ5D). Pain was considered chronic when persistent for more than three months, and the subgroup CWP was defined according to the 1990 ACR criteria for fibromyalgia. Statistical analyses in SPSS v21 with comparison of means by Student’s t-test and proportions by chi2-test or Fischer’s exact test.

Results: 257 (87%) out of 296 eligible students, mean (SD) age 16.1 (0.7) and 65.8% girls, responded to the questionnaire.  Prevalence of chronic pain was 20.8% and that of the subgroup CWP was 4.7%, without any gender differences (boys 18.2% vs girls 22.2%; p=0.224, and 3.4% vs 5.4%; p=0.692). High level (4 or 5 on a 5 point scale) of stress symptoms were less common in boys (16.0% vs 28.2%; p=0.015), as was possible or probable anxiety (17.1% vs 44.4%; p<0.001), but not depression (10.3% vs 12.5%; p=0.764). Students with high level of stress reported CWP five times more often than those with less stress (30.4% vs 5.8%; p=0.001). Students with probable anxiety reported CWP ten times more often than students with no anxiety (17.6% vs 1.8%; p=0.001), and CWP was also more common, but not statistically significant, in students with probable depression (20.0% vs 3.1%; p=0.163). Those reporting CWP had significantly lower HRQL (0.58 vs 0.87; p=0.038) than students with no chronic pain.

Conclusion: The high prevalence of chronic pain and the strong associations between CWP and reports of stress and anxiety in adolescents highlights that a multifactorial background to chronic pain must be considered early in life. An apparent lower score in EQ5D also indicates that the presence of CWP has an marked impact on HRQL also in adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Impaired hand function is common in patients with arthritis and it affects performance of daily activities; thus, hand exercises are recommended. There is little information on the extent to which the disease affects activation of the flexor and extensor muscles during these hand-dexterity tasks. The purpose of this study was to compare muscle activation during such tasks in subjects with arthritis and in a healthy reference group.

METHODS: Muscle activation was measured in m. extensor digitorium communis (EDC) and in m. flexor carpi radialis (FCR) with surface electromyography (EMG) in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n = 20), hand osteoarthritis (HOA, n = 16) and in a healthy reference group (n = 20) during the performance of four daily activity tasks and four hand exercises. Maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) was measured to enable intermuscular comparisons, and muscle activation is presented as %MVIC.

RESULTS: The arthritis group used a higher %MVIC than the reference group in both FCR and EDC when cutting with a pair of scissors, pulling up a zipper and-for the EDC-also when writing with a pen and using a key (p < 0.02). The exercise "rolling dough with flat hands" required the lowest %MVIC and may be less effective in improving muscle strength.

CONCLUSIONS: Women with arthritis tend to use higher levels of muscle activation in daily tasks than healthy women, and wrist extensors and flexors appear to be equally affected. It is important that hand training programs reflect real-life situations and focus also on extensor strength. © 2014 Brorsson et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

The aim of this study was to evaluate tracking performance when an extra reference block is added to a basic block-matching method, where the two reference blocks originate from two consecutive ultrasound frames. The use of an extra reference block was evaluated for two putative benefits: (i) an increase in tracking performance while maintaining the size of the reference blocks, evaluated using in silico and phantom cine loops; (ii) a reduction in the size of the reference blocks while maintaining the tracking performance, evaluated using in vivo cine loops of the common carotid artery where the longitudinal movement of the wall was estimated. The results indicated that tracking accuracy improved (mean - 48%, p<0.005 [in silico]; mean - 43%, p<0.01 [phantom]), and there was a reduction in size of the reference blocks while maintaining tracking performance (mean - 19%, p<0.01 [in vivo]). This novel method will facilitate further exploration of the longitudinal movement of the arterial wall. (C) 2014 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.

Background Hand function measured as grip force and finger extension force is often impaired in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and hand osteoarthritis (HOA) affecting performance of daily activities why hand exercises are recommended. A number of hand exercises are often used in the clinic but there is little information about “the effects of a minimal set of hand exercises” and if the choice of exercises is important to improve strength and function in the hand.

Objectives To study the effect on grip- and finger extension strength and patient reported hand function from two different sets of handexercises performed over 8 weeks using a randomized study design.

Methods Female patients with arthritis (RA and HOA, n=121) were randomly assigned to two different sets of handexercises (HE) for 8 weeks. The four hand exercises applied in the program were exercises commonly used in traditional hand training programs. The exercises were split into two groups depending on if the muscle activation (measured with EMG) were greater in forearm flexor (HE I, n=62) or in extensor muscles (HE II, n=59) (REF). HE I: isolated finger opposition (digits II-V) and rolling the putty with a flat hand, HE II: squeezing the putty and finger extension with putty resistance. The two HE were performed daily and each set was repeated 15 times, training time per day was maximum 5 minutes 7 days/week.

Grip strength was measured with Grippit and finger extension strength with EX-it both validated instruments (unit: N). Pain was measured with a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), 0-10 (best to worst). Hand functions were evaluated with the patient reported questionnaire Quick Disability Arm Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH), 0-100 (best to worst).

Results Mean grip strength (p=0.01) and mean finger extension force (p=0.004) increased after the training period in the group using HE I. In HE II the mean finger extension force increased (p=0.044), table 1. Hand function was stable over the training period.

Table 1.

Descriptive data of finger extension (EXIT) force and grip strength in the right hand, hand function (QuickDASH) and VAS pain presented as mean ± SD (min–max)

Conclusions Five daily minutes with two hand exercises resulted increased grip strength and finger extension force after eight weeks. We suggest that hand exercises should be combined and selected to improve both flexor and extensor muscle strength of the forearm.

Equipment used in sports is of great importance, especially when the equipment is in direct contact with the athlete or is important for safety. In the sport kitesurfing environmental factors and the equipment design are crucial for the comfort and safety. The participants’ choice and opinion of equipment can show which factors are considered most important for the performance and to reduce risk for injury. This study has evaluated self-reported information from the participants about what equipment they use, comfort of the equipment and if the equipment has contributed to any injuries. The methods used were questionnaires (n=206) and interviews (n=17), which in combination allows to assess the problem both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results showed that supported leading edge kites are most frequently used, with a waist harness and foot straps to attach the feet. The choice of kite type was mainly based on the discipline of riding for the respondent. Some issues concerning comfort of riding and injury risk the respondents did relate to the design of harness and foot straps. The information from this study can be used for development strategies for industry manufacturers and for further studies in the area of equipment design and biomechanics. © 2012 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved.

Balance between flexor and extensor muscle activity is essential for optimal function. This has been demonstrated previously for the lower extremity, trunk and shoulder function, but information on the relationship in hand function is lacking. AIM: Was to evaluate whether there are qualitative differences in finger extension force(fef), grip force, force duration, force balance and the muscle activities in the forearm flexor and extensor muscles in healthy men and women in different ages.