Gokcenur Yalcin

Myofascial adhesions are an important cause of upper extremity dysfunction among breast cancer surgery (BCS) patients. Myofascial-adhesions-in-patients-after-breast-cancer (MAP-BC) is a quantitative method developed to assess scar tissue and adhesions. This study aims to create a Turkish version of the MAP-BC tool and to test its validity and reliability. This cross-cultural adaptation and validation study included 81 female BCS patients aged 18-80 years. For convergent validity, patients were assessed using MAP-BC and the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale observer subscale. For test-retest reliability, the patients were assessed on days 0 and 14. Thirty-two patients were evaluated by a second researcher to assess interrater reliability. Validity was fair to good (rho = 0.631). For test-retest reliability, intraclass correlation (ICC) values for the subgroups ranged from 0.798 to 0.954, with an ICC = 0.948 for the total score, indicating good-to-excellent test-retest reliability. Interrater ICC values ranged from 0.417 to 0.949, with ICC = 0.938 for the total score, suggesting good to excellent interrater agreement, except for the "frontal chest wall" section. The Turkish MAP-BC tool is valid and reliable for evaluating myofascial adhesions and scars after BCS and adjuvant treatments. Clinicians are encouraged to use MAP-BC to detect myofascial adhesions and evaluate treatment efficacy, as this is the first tool available in Turkish for this purpose.

This sham‐controlled animal study aimed to investigate the effects of melatonin and methylprednisolone combination on motor function, nerve conduction and histopathological and biochemical findings in rats with sciatic nerve crush injury. Forty‐eight male Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into 6 groups ( n = 8): CT: control, VEH: sciatic nerve injury, LMP: 15‐mg/kg methylprednisolone, high‐dose methylprednisolone (HMP): 30‐mg/kg methylprednisolone, MEL: 15‐mg/kg melatonin, MMP: 15‐mg/kg methylprednisolone+15‐mg/kg melatonin. The rats were evaluated with Sciatic Functional Index (SFI), nerve conduction study, interleukin‐1β ( IL‐1ß), nerve growth factor (NGF), total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS) and histopathological scores. There were no significant intergroup differences in baseline tests. SFI significantly improved in all treated groups with no significant intergroup differences. Motor amplitude improved most in MMP, LMP and MEL, respectively. Nerve conduction velocity significantly improved in MMP compared to VEH. There were no significant intergroup differences regarding serum NGF, TAS and TOS. Tissue NGF levels were higher in LMP, HMP and MEL. IL‐1ß levels were significantly lower in CT and MMP. Tissue oxidative stress levels were significantly lower in treated groups compared to VEH, with no significant difference among them. MMP showed greater histopathological improvement. Melatonin combination therapy in sciatic nerve crush injury provided adequate functional improvement, superior electrophysiological and histopathological recovery compared to high‐dose methylprednisolone and exhibited better anti‐inflammatory activity through IL‐1ß.

Objectives: The aims of the study were to assess the effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation combined with lumbar stabilization exercises on lumbar multifidus muscle thickness, disability, pain, depression, anxiety, and fear-avoidance beliefs in patients with chronic low back pain and to examine the correlation between ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar multifidus. Design: Forty patients aged 18–65 yrs were randomized into two groups: group 1: exercise and group 2: exercise + neuromuscular electrical stimulation. The participants underwent 15-session electrical stimulation and/or exercise (3 d/wk). All outcome measures assessed at baseline, posttreatment, and 3 mos after. Multifidus cross-sectional area on magnetic resonance imaging was measured only at baseline. Results: Multifidus thickness increased, and pain decreased significantly in both groups, more prominent in group 2. Disability, depression, and fear-avoidance beliefs scores significantly decreased in both groups, while anxiety decreased only in group 1. Both magnetic resonance and ultrasound measurements demonstrated excellent interrater reliability and statistically significant correlations. Conclusions: Both groups improved in terms of pain, disability, psychological status, and muscle thickness. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation adjunct to lumbar stabilization exercises demonstrated enhanced effectiveness in increasing lumbar multifidus thickness.

This study aimed to assess the effects of kinesiotaping (KT) adjunct to physical therapy (PT) on proprioception, cervical range of motion (ROM), pain, disability, anxiety, depression, and quality of life (QoL) in cervical spondylosis. Sixty-nine patients aged 50-70 years were randomized into three groups: PT, PT plus KT(PT+KT), PT plus sham-taping(PT+ST). All participants underwent standardized 15-session PT, 5 days/week. Additionally, group-II received KT, and group-III received ST 2 days/week for 3 weeks. Primary outcome was the cervical-joint-position-error-test (CJPET), with secondary outcomes active-cervical ROM, handgrip strength, Visual-Analogue-Scale (VAS), Douleur Neuropathique-4 Questions (DN4), Upper-Limb-Functional-Index (ULFI), Neck-Disability-Index (NDI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36). CJPET for flexion improved in all groups (p < .05), with no significant intergroup differences (p > .05). ROM improved in all groups (p < .05), with significant intergroup differences in extension at both T1 (p = .006, eta squared = 0.125, medium effect size) and T2 (p = .022, eta squared = 0.086, medium effect size); revealing greater improvement for PT+KT and PT+ST compared to PT (p < .05).VAS, DN4, NDI, and SF-36 pain domain scores improved in all groups (p < .05). Handgrip strength increased in the nondominant hand in PT+KT and PT+ST (p = .021). No improvements were observed in HADS (p > .05). ULFI increased in PT (p = .043) and PT+ST (p = .005). KT adjunct to PT shows potential in improving proprioception, pain, and disability in cervical spondylosis. Further studies are needed to refine taping techniques and assess long-term effects.