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Biomedical subjects

Matthias Fink

Publications and source records attributed to Matthias Fink.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Efficacy of a flexible orthotic device in patients with osteoporosis on pain and activity of daily living.

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy of a flexible orthotic device in patients with osteoporosis. DESIGN: Open observational study. PATIENTS: Fifty patients with osteoporosis. METHODS: An open observational study was performed on 50 patients with osteoporosis in order to investigate the efficacy of a new osteoporosis orthotic device, which is an elastic back support with paravertebral air chamber pads. The outcome parameters were pain, activities of daily living, individual compliance and comfort. The observation period was approximately 2.5 months, and the orthotic device was worn continuously during daytime. RESULTS: There was a highly significant reduction in pain under exertion from mean 6.1 (SD 1.7) to 4.5 (SD 1.4) (p < 0.00001), pain when driving (from 5.2 (SD 2.4) to 3.8 (SD 1.9) (p < 0.00001)), and pain at rest from 4.1 (SD 2.4) to 3.1 (SD 1.9) (p < 0.0001). About 50% of the patients judged their ability to perform everyday activities as "much better"or "better". If physiotherapy was interrupted upon onset of orthosis treatment, the results were significantly worse than in patients with continued physiotherapy. CONCLUSION: This orthotic device could be a useful addition to the medical care of patients with osteoporosis and a complement to drug treatment and physiotherapy with regular exercises, which should be continued.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2006

Acupuncture in the treatment of painful dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint -- a review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to analyze the results of randomized clinical trials on the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of painful dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature search of 3 electronic databases was performed, and only randomized studies comparing acupuncture-treated patients with either untreated or conservatively treated control groups were included. For this purpose, results were compared in narrative and tabular form. RESULTS: To date, only 8 publications representing 6 randomized clinical trials have looked into the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of craniomandibular dysfunction. With the exception of one, all studies were published in Sweden, between 1985 and 1992. A more recent US study was the only one to apply sham acupuncture to test the efficacy of acupuncture. All studies share methodological shortcomings, including a lack of detailed descriptions of the randomization procedures, point selection, possible dropouts and undesirable events as well as attempts to identify a possible placebo effect of the acupuncture. Only 1 study investigated long-term results. Although based on the improvement of subjective and objective criteria, all studies consider acupuncture as an effective treatment for painful dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint, the good results achieved must be interpreted with caution because of the methodological shortcomings identified. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture appears to be a suitable complementary treatment method in the management of craniomandibular dysfunction. However, its significance has to be further evaluated in future studies.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2005

["Applied kinesiology" in medicine and dentistry--a critical review].

The "Applied Kinesiology" evolved in the USA is increasingly being used in Central Europe. In this review the development of the method and its practical application in medicine and in dentistry are elucidated. Furthermore the propagation of the method by the International College of Applied Kinesiology (= ICAK) and the "Touch for Health" (=TFH) is described. School medicine's criticism of "Applied Kinesiology" as well as the methodological replies from "Applied Kinesiologists" are outlined. It is important to realise that there is to date a lack of evidence for the effectiveness, validity and reliability of "Applied Kinesiology". The following requirements are thus vital: "Applied Kinesiologists" must develop clear criteria for single subgroups of "Applied Kinesiology", prove the effectiveness of their methods, and explain their findings in agreement with current medical knowledge.

Dental Occlusion↗
PubMed2004

Needle acupuncture in chronic poststroke leg spasticity.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether needle acupuncture may be useful in the reduction of leg spasticity in a chronic state. DESIGN: Single-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. SETTING: Neurologic outpatient department of a medical school in Germany. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-five patients (14 women) suffering from chronic poststroke leg spasticity with pes equinovarus deformity (Modified Ashworth Scale [MAS] score, >/=1), aged 38 to 77 years (mean +/- standard deviation, 58.5+/-10.4 y), were enrolled in the study. The mean time from stroke to inclusion in the study was approximately 5 years (mean, 65.4+/-48.3 mo; range, 7-180 mo). INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomly assigned to placebo treatment (n=12) by using a specially designed placebo needling procedure, or verum treatment (n=13). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: MAS score of the affected ankle, pain (visual analog scale), and walking speed. RESULTS: There was no demonstrated beneficial clinical effects from verum acupuncture. After 4 weeks of treatment, mean MAS score was 3.3+/-0.9 in the placebo group versus 3.3+/-1.1 in the verum group. The neurophysiologic measure of H-reflex indicated a significant increase of spinal motoneuron excitability after verum acupuncture (H-response/M-response ratio: placebo,.39+/-.19; verum,.68+/-.41; P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: This effect might be explained by afferent input of A delta and C fibers to the spinal motoneuron. The results from our study indicate that needle acupuncture may not be helpful to patients with chronic poststroke spasticity. However, there was neurophysiologic evidence for specific acupuncture effects on a spinal (segmental) level involving nociceptive reflex mechanisms.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2003

The functional relationship between the craniomandibular system, cervical spine, and the sacroiliac joint: a preliminary investigation.

The hypothesis of a functional coupling between the muscles of the craniomandibular system and the muscles of other body areas is still controversial. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine whether there is a relationship between the craniomandibular system, the craniocervical system and the sacropelvic region. To test this hypothesis, the prevalence and localization of dysfunction of the cervical spine and the sacroiliac joint were examined in a prospective, experimental trial. Twenty healthy students underwent an artificial occlusal interference, which caused an occlusal interference. The upper cervical spine (CO-C3) and the sacroiliac joint were examined before, during and after this experimental test. The primary outcome with these experimental conditions was the occurrence of hypomobile functional abnormalities. In the presence of occlusal interference, functional abnormalities were detected in both regions examined and these changes were statistically significant. The clinical implications of these findings may be that a complementary examination of these areas in CMD patients could be useful.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Gender differences in coping with tension-type headaches.

OBJECTIVE: To study gender differences of coping with illness strategies in tension-type headaches. METHOD: We enrolled 89 subjects (50 women, 39 men) suffering from episodic (n = 37) and chronic (n = 52) tension-type headaches (TTH). Patients were required to answer a Freiburg Questionnaire of Coping with Illness (FQCI), a Von Zerssen Depression Scale (D-S), quality-of-life questionnaires, and a headache home diary (over 4 weeks). In addition, pressure pain thresholds (temporal muscles) and Total Tenderness Scores were obtained. RESULTS: While pain intensity, frequency and quality-of-life parameters were basically the same for female and male EPISODIC TTH sufferers, women scored significantly higher on the F3 subscale (distracting and encouraging) of the FQCI and tended to score higher on the F1 subscale (depressive). Among CHRONIC TTH patients, women reported the pain to be more intense (VAS), were more depressed (D-S), and scored lower on several quality-of-life scores. Female chronic TTH sufferers scored significantly lower on the F2 subscale (active coping) and tended to score higher on F5 (denying). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that pessimistic coping with illness strategies are more frequent in female episodic and chronic TTH sufferers. We would like to recommend special psychologic intervention in particular to female chronic TTH sufferers which would offer counseling in developing active coping skills.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2002

Acupuncture has no immediate treatment effect on the neutrophil respiratory burst: a randomized single-blinded two-period crossover study.

Little is known about the influence of acupuncture treatment on the immune system. The respiratory burst (RB) of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) is a recognized measure of their cytotoxicity, an important component of the immune system. The present trial was therefore performed to examine whether a single-acupuncture treatment has an immediate effect on the RB of neutrophil PMNs. Sixteen volunteers were enrolled in the study. After randomization, eight volunteers were treated bilaterally with standard needles at acupoint LI11 and eight volunteers with placebo needles at the same acupoint, each for 30 min. The RB was determined before and 30 min after treatment. After two weeks, each group received the alternative treatment. There was a drop-out of two volunteers. No period or carryover effects were found in the remaining fourteen volunteers. No effect of acupuncture on the neutrophil RB was observed.

Acupuncture↗
PubMed2002

Medical and physical therapy of temporomandibular joint disk displacement without reduction.

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of medical and physical therapy on long-term treatment outcome in 72 patients with anterior disk displacement without reduction. Patients were treated solely with occlusal splints (group I), with splints and supplementary medical therapy (group II), with splints and physical therapy (group III) or with splints, medical, and physical therapy (group IV). After therapy, the maintenance of improvement was objectively and subjectively assessed with an extensive clinical examination and a postal questionnaire. The percentage of pain free patients after therapy was 76% in group I, 88% in group II, 43% in group III, and 65% in group IV. There was a statistically significant higher increase of maximum jaw opening after therapy in group II than in the control groups (p<0.05). The improvement in mouth opening came to 9.7 mm in group I, 14.5 mm in group II, 7.3 mm in group III, and 11.2 mm in group IV. Medical therapy seems to have a positive influence on the treatment outcome of patients with anterior disk displacement without reduction.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Asymptomatic cervical spine dysfunction (CSD) in patients with internal derangement of the temporomandibular joint.

Patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) frequently show symptoms related to the cervical spine. It is however unknown whether patients with TMD who have no symptoms in the neck region often have signs of cervical spine dysfunction (CSD) and whether there is a predominant localization of these asymptomatic CSDs. In a prospective and controlled examiner-blinded clinical trial, the prevalence and localization of asymptomatic CSD in patients with TMD was examined. Thirty patients with internal derangement of the temporomandibular joint but without any neck problems were compared with 30 age and gender matched healthy controls. Significantly more asymptomatic dysfunctions of the vertebral joints and increased muscle tenderness were found in the patient group. The difference between patents and nonpatients for vertebral joint dysfunction and muscle tenderness was greatest in the upper cervical spine. These findings support the thesis that a complementary examination of this area should be performed, even when TMD patents do not report any neck problems.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of chronic pain - a pilot study.

Invasive electrical stimulation of the motor cortex has been reported to be of therapeutic value in pain control. We were interested whether noninvasive repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the primary motor cortex might also act beneficially. Twelve patients with therapy-resistant chronic pain syndromes (mean age 51.3 +/- 12.6, 6 males) were included in a pilot study. They were treated with rTMS of the corresponding motor cortex area for 20 min (20 Hz, 20 x 2 s trains, intensity 80% of motor threshold) and sham stimulation (sequence-controlled cross-over design). Some of the patients (6/6) had an analgesic effect, but for the whole group, the difference between active and sham stimulation did not reach a level of significance (active rTMS: mean VAS reduction -4.0 +/- 15.6%; sham rTMS: -2.3 +/- 8.8%). Further studies using different rTMS stimulation parameters (duration and frequency of rTMS) or stimulation sites (e.g. anterior cingulate gyrus) are strongly encouraged.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

EMG monitoring during functional non-surgical therapy of Achilles tendon rupture.

After surgical therapy of Achilles tendon rupture, neuromuscular changes may persist, even one year after surgery. We were interested whether these changes are also evident following a non-surgical functional therapy (Variostabil therapy boot/Adidas). Twenty-one patients with complete Achilles tendon rupture were enrolled in the study (mean age 38.5 years, range 24 to 60; 18 men, three women) and followed-up clinically and with surface EMG of the gastrocnemius muscles after four, eight, 12 weeks, and one year after rupture. EMG differences between the affected and non-affected side could only be observed at baseline and after four weeks following Achilles tendon rupture. The results from our study show that EMG changes are not found following non-surgical functional therapy.

Achilles Tendon↗
PubMed2000

Pressure pain threshold and needle acupuncture in chronic tension-type headache--a double-blind placebo-controlled study.

In order to examine the role of muscular mechanisms in chronic tension-type headache a study with needle acupuncture was performed. Needle acupuncture could be of therapeutic value because it has shown some positive effects in myofascial pain syndromes. We performed a double-blind, placebo-controlled study with 39 patients (mean age 49.0 years, SD=14.8) fulfilling the International Headache Society criteria for chronic tension-type headaches. Participants were randomly assigned to verum or placebo condition. Six weeks after end of treatment no significant differences between placebo and verum could be observed with respect to visual analogue scale and frequency of headache attacks. Nevertheless, pressure pain thresholds significantly increased for the verum group. The findings of our study support the hypothesis that peripheral mechanisms - such as increased muscle tenderness - only play a minor role in the pathogenesis of chronic tension-type headache.

Acupuncture Therapy↗