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A recent paradigm-shift in patient care advocates for long-term recovery and quality of life in survivors of critical illness. Evidence suggests that occupational therapists in critical care can contribute to recovery in areas such as functional outcomes, length of stay and delirium, although poor role understanding can limit service-utilisation. The purpose of this study is to investigate current and future roles and practices of critical care occupational therapists in the UK.

Occupational therapists with clinical experience in adult critical care were invited to participate in a mixed-methods design using a locally developed online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, concurrently. Descriptive statistics were generated through SPSS. Qualitative data were analysed using the framework approach.

Twelve occupational therapists participated in the survey element, with five continuing to interview. Occupational therapists described a multifaceted role in critical care where the majority reported practice in upper limb function, seating/positioning, cognition, psychosocial sequelae and discharge planning. Role and internal characteristics impacted on service delivery. It is envisaged that earlier intervention in a greater percentage of patients, a greater evidence-base, raising awareness and adequate staffing will be features for future development.

This study provides new insight into the current role and practices of adult critical care occupational therapists in England and generates insights into their role in addressing physical and non-physical morbidity for this patient cohort. Findings are preliminary in nature; however, future research is warranted to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.

Breast-cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) is a negative condition that affects biopsychosocial aspects of patients treated with breast cancer. Yoga has been reported as one of the complementary and alternative approaches used by patients diagnosed with BCRL. The aim of this systematic review was to explore the effectiveness of yoga on BCRL.

A systematic literature was performed by searching existing papers from the electronic scientific databases. Five papers were exclusively examined. Four studies were conducted in women with BCRL, and one study was conducted with women at risk for BCRL.

Four types of yoga were evaluated in relationship with BCRL, namely: the Satyananda Yoga tradition, the modified Hatha yoga, the aerobic yoga training and the Ashtanga-based yoga practices. Four of five included studies reported that decrease in arm volume was not reported for all yoga-type interventions. One study showed no significant evidence that yoga was associated with limb volume change in women at risk of BCRL. Similarly, three studies reported that the change-of-arm-volume measures were not significantly different between the yoga and the control groups or in the same group before and after the yoga program. One quasi-experimental study reported arm volume significantly decreased after attending the yoga program.

This review reported the importance of being aware that yoga is not shown to be an effective strategy for managing or preventing BCRL. However, quality of research methodology, small sample sizes and the limited number of related studies should be acknowledged. Until more rigorous studies are performed, yoga may continue to be used as a complement to traditional therapy under the supervision of certified trainers.

This study aims to test the effects of Celliant armbands on grip strength in subjects with chronic wrist and elbow pain. Celliant® is a functional textile fabric containing minerals that emit infrared radiation (IR) in response to body heat. IR-emitting fabrics have biological effects including the reduction of pain and inflammation and the stimulation of muscle function.

A randomized placebo-controlled trial recruited 80 subjects (40 per group) with a six-month history of chronic wrist or elbow pain (carpal tunnel syndrome, epicondylitis or arthritis) to wear an armband (real Celliant or placebo fabric) on the affected wrist or elbow for two weeks. Grip strength was measured by a dynamometer before and after the two-week study.

For the placebo group, the mean grip strength increased from 47.95 ± 25.14 (baseline) to 51.69 ± 27.35 (final), whereas for the Celliant group, it increased from 46.3 ± 22.02 to 54.1 ± 25.97. The mean per cent increase over the two weeks was +7.8% for placebo and +16.8% for Celliant (p = 0.0372). No adverse effects was observed.

Limitations include the wide variation in grip strength in the participants at baseline measurement, which meant that only the percentage increase between baseline and final measurements showed a significant difference. Moreover, no subjective measurements of pain or objective neurophysiology testes was done.

Celliant armbands are easy to wear and have not been shown to produce any adverse effects. Therefore, there appears to be no barrier to prevent widespread uptake.

IR-emitting textiles have been studied for their beneficial effects, both in patients diagnosed with various disorders and also in healthy volunteers for health and wellness purposes. Although there are many types of textile technology that might be used to produce IR-emitting fabrics, including coating of the fabric with a printed layer of ceramic material, incorporating discs of mineral into the garment, the authors feel that incorporating ceramic particles into the polymer fibers from which the fabric is woven is likely to be the most efficient way of achieving the goal.

Celliant armbands appear to be effective in painful upper limb inflammatory disorders, and further studies are warranted. The mechanism of action is not completely understood, but the hypothesis that the emitted IR radiation is absorbed by nanostructured intracellular water provides some theoretical justification.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and determine factors influencing MSDs among rice farmers.

A cross-sectional study was carried out among 156 rice farmers from 14 villages in Tarnlalord sub-district, Phimai district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, from February 2017 to March 2017. Face-to-face interviews, including demographics, work characteristics and musculoskeletal pain, were conducted using a modified standardized Nordic questionnaire.

The results revealed that both 78 males and 78 females participated in the study to which the average of age and body mass index (BMI) was 45.5±11.4 years and 24.9±4.0 kg/m², respectively. All rice farmers reported MSDs in at least one body region during the six months preceding the interview. The highest prevalence of MSDs showed 86.5 percent in the lower back area, followed by 85.9 percent in the neck, and 80.7 percent in the shoulders. The analysis of binary logistic regression and Spearman’s rank correlation showed that factors such as gender, age, BMI, work experience and farm size influence MSDs’ occurrence, and pain severity in one or more body regions (p < 0.05).

Musculoskeletal injuries are a significant health problem in rice farmers. The study indicated that appropriate agricultural practices such as working posture, equipment size selection and carrying loads should be recommended to prevent MSDs. Thus, the occupational health and safety services in agricultural workers are needed.

The purpose of this paper is to review the prevalence and risk factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among healthcare workers (HCWs) in order to ascertain the occupation with the highest susceptibility to WMSD in the health sector. This paper will also review the effective interventions which have been used to prevent WMSDs among HCWs.

This study is a literature review of 11 papers related to the prevalence and risk factors of WMSDs and 12 papers about the interventions being used to prevent WMSDs among HCWs. The papers were retrieved from respectable databases such as PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar and E-Thesis.

Nurses belong to the major group of HCWs who had the highest prevalence of WMSDs compared with other health professionals and other hospital workers. Although there are several interventions being commonly used to prevent WMSD risk factors, some interventions were unsuccessful in the prevention of WMSDs in healthcare tasks. Therefore, it is necessary that future research focuses on the tasks of HCWs that are WMSD risk factors and tries to innovate or redesign ergonomic workstations to prevent those risk factors.

The expected benefit of this study is to motivate ergonomists to provide appropriate and innovative interventions to ensure health and safety for nurses and other HCWs.