Vol 14, No 5 (2015)

The objective of the present study was to elucidate the possibilities and practicability of the application of a low-frequency electrostatic field for the conservative treatment of grade I and II scoliosis in the children. The electrostatic field is known to promote the development of vibrations of varying strength in the biological tissues and their penetration rather deep into their interior. We examined and treated 56 children divided into two groups matched for the age and major clinical manifestations of the disease. All the patients received basic therapy. Those in the study group were additionally given low-frequency electrostatic therapy. It was shown that the application of the low-frequency electrostatic field for the conservative treatment of grade I and II scoliosis in the children significantly increases its effectiveness and facilitates regression of scoliosis.

A new priority method for the rehabilitation of the patients presenting with the spinal cord lesions caused by mechanical injuries, vascular disorders, and benign tumours is described. The present study included 12 patients at the age varying from 17 to 72 years who had undergone the surgical treatment in the preceding period. The proposed method consists of sequential stimulation of the spinal cord and the denervated organs (paralyzed limbs, urinary bladder) with the use of a MV 6.03 electrostimulator producing unipolar pulsed electrical current with a frequency of 50 ± 4 Hz, pulse duration of 2.5 ms, and voltage 10-40 V (up to 20 pulses per train with the exponential pause modulation). Large-size electrodes were used. The patients described the stimulation procedure as convenient and painless. Its application resulted in a substantial improvement of the spinal cord functions in 7 patients and their moderate improvement in 5 others. The treatment resulted in the increase of the range of motions in the limbs, the enhancement of the muscular strength, the restoration of sensitivity in the lower extremities and of the functions of the urinary bladder. These clinical observations were confirmed by the optimized results of electroneuromyographic studies. It is concluded that the proposed method makes it possible to improve the quality of restoration of the spinal cord functions due to normalization of the links between the central regulatory systems and the denervated organs.

This article reports the results of the evaluation of the effectiveness of various methods for bischofite therapy currently in use for the treatment of the patients presenting with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The author proposes the differential approaches to the application of these methods taking into consideration the stage of the disease, the character of the metabolic disorders, and the presence of a concomitant pathology of the digestive organs.

The present study was designed to compare, based on the results of evaluation using the SCORE scale, the influence of physical exercises (treadmill workouts) in the combination with a sauna bath therapeutic procedure in the multifunctional oxygen-hyperthermal heat chamber on the main hemodynamic parameters and energy generation in the patients at low risk of developing cardiovascular diseases . The study included 43 patients above 20 years of age (34 men and 9 women at the age from 24 to 63 years). They performed intense treadmill exercises followed by a sauna bath procedure in a thermal chamber (“Sybaritic, Inc.” Alfa Led Oxy Light Spa™). The patients’ performance on the treadmill was assessed based on the overall oxygen consumption or metabolic equivalent and the responsiveness to the sauna bath therapeutic procedure in the thermal chamber from the loss of calories. Initial systolic arterial pressure (SAP), diastolic arterial pressure (DAP), and the heart rate (HR) measured prior to the treadmill exercises and the sauna bath procedure were not significantly different. The difference between maximum SAP, DAP, and HR values after treadmill exercises and those measured immediately after the sauna bath procedure acquired statistical significance (in all cases, p = 0.0001). The difference between the loss of calories during treadmill exercises and the sauna bath procedure was not significantly different (328 ± 84.5 and 296.3 ± 74.8 respectively, p < 0.19). It is concluded that, unlike the treadmill exercises, the thermal stress did not cause sharp changes of AP and HR comparable with those in response to the physical load. It means that the infrared thermal system can play as important role in the complex of health-promotion programs as physical exercises.

This article deals with the currently accepted concept of the application of the physical therapeutic methods for the early activization and medical rehabilitation of the patients presenting with acute cerebral circulation disorders (ACCD) and their consequences. The authors undertook the comparative analysis of the evidence-based investigations concerned with the application of therapeutic physical factors in the framework of the programs for resuscitation and rehabilitation of the patients suffering from ACCD. It was shown that the structure and the contents of the treatment and rehabilitation programs for such patients may differ significantly in different periods. The arguments are provided in favour of differentiation between the notions of “early rehabilitation” and “neuroresuscitative rehabilitation” based on the differentiation between the “end points’ (structure and mechanisms of development of pathological processes), their applications, and the relevant regulatory documents. The prospects for the further development of earlier rehabilitation measures are discussed along with the conditions to be created for the successful work of a multi-disciplinary rehabilitation team having to do with the patients suffering from ACCD.