Matthias Fink

Matthias Fink
Hannover Medical School | MHH · Department für Rehabilitation Medicine

Prof. Dr. med. habil.

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96
Publications
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2,190
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Publications

Publications (96)
Article
Objectives: To examine the effects of acupuncture and therapeutic exercise alone and in combination on temporomandibular joint symptoms in tension-type headache and to evaluate the potential interaction of existing temporomandibular dysfunction on the success of headache treatment. Design: Pre-planned secondary analysis of a randomized controlled,...
Article
Objectives: To compare the effects of acupuncture and medical training therapy in combination or individually with usual care on quality of life, depression, and anxiety in patients with tension-type headache. Methods: In this single-center, prospective, randomized, controlled, unblinded trial, 96 adults (38.7(SD 13.3) years of age; 75 females/20 m...
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Eine Majoramputation ist für die Betroffenen ein äußerst belastender Eingriff und mit großen Herausforderungen für die gesellschaftliche und berufliche Wiedereingliederung verbunden. Bei der Versorgung von Amputationspatient*innen besteht ein hoher Bedarf an ärztlicher und therapeutischer Behandlung sowie sozialmedizinischer Steuerung. Die sektoral...
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Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of acupuncture and medical training therapy alone and in combination with those of usual care on the pain sensation of patients with frequent episodic and chronic tension type headache. Design: Prospective single-center randomized controlled trial with four balanced treatment arms. The a...
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Background On 31 December 2016, a total of 1206 physicians participated in the outpatient care of chronic pain patients according to the criteria of a special pain management program (QSV). Because of the largely existing shortage of treatment resources for chronic pain patients, there is a lack of data regarding the evaluation of outpatient pain m...
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Background: This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of a complex health intervention, based on the combination of conventional Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), in an outpatient department of a university hospital for patients with frequent episodic or chronic tension-type headaches. Methods/design: This i...
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Context • Low-back pain (LBP) is a prevalent and potentially crippling condition for which treatment is often unsatisfactory from the perspectives of physicians, patients, and payers. The application of the fascial distortion model (FDM), an integrated concept for the diagnosis and manipulative treatment of musculoskeletal disorders, is conceptuall...
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Purpose: Standard analgesic treatment is associated with adverse events in patients with osteoporosis, especially elderly and/or comorbid patients. As acupuncture has gained widespread acceptance as a complementary treatment modality with few side effects, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of acupuncture on the pain and quality of...
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Background: Acupuncture has been widely adopted in the Western world. However, in many clinical trials, a lack of clear differences between verum and sham acupuncture treatments has been observed. By contrast, preclinical data has shown significant physiologic effects of acupuncture needling. Objective: The primary objective of this article is to g...
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Unlabelled: HYPOTHESE: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and sleep disorders are some of the most wearing and common symptoms in disease-free breast cancer patients (BC). Aerobic training (AT) is the treatment with the best available evidence, even though it seems to be insufficient with regards to improvements in cognitive fatigue. We introduced a new...
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Frozen shoulder is a common problem and difficult to treat. The present prospective randomised single-blind controlled trial evaluates the efficacy of the 'fascial distortion model' according to Typaldos as a remedy for the 'frozen shoulder'. A total of 60 patients were randomised to receive either the FDM-guided treatment (FDM, n = 30) or a 'conve...
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Painful oral mucositis is an almost inevitable side effect of radiotherapy of head and neck tumors that simultaneous chemotherapy intensifies and that is notoriously difficult to treat. In a previous study, chemotherapy-induced stomatitis in children undergoing bone marrow transplantation responded well to the homeopathic complex remedy Traumeel S....
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Hintergrund Die vorliegende Studie untersucht kurz- und mittelfristige ortheseninduzierte Veränderungen von Gangparametern und schmerzbedingten Einschränkungen der Alltagsaktivitäten bei Patientinnen mit Osteoporose. Material und Methoden Im Rahmen eines Zwei-Stichproben-Messwiederholungsdesigns erfolgten im Abstand von 3 und 6 Monaten in 2 randomi...
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Osteoporosis is a widespread chronic bone disease leading to an increased risk of bone fractures. The most common clinical consequences are back pain, hyperkyphosis, limitations of physical functioning and activities of daily living as well as reduced quality of life. Furthermore, osteoporosis is associated with decreased strength and deficits of g...
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In many countries balneotherapy as a representative of classic naturopathy has a long tradition, and it is used – among other indications – for the treatment of rheumatic diseases. Inconsistent with the frequent use of this sedentary remedy is the small number of clinical studies to confirm its specific efficacy. Studies about the properties of bal...
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Leech therapy has been found to be effective in osteoarthritis of the knee and hand in previous trials. Chronic epicondylitis is a prevalent pain syndrome with limited treatment options. In this study, we tested whether leech therapy would be beneficial in the symptomatic treatment of chronic lateral epicondylitis. Forty patients with manifestation...
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The aim of the study was to examine whether acupuncture is an effective additional pain treatment for endometriosis. One hundred and one women aged 20-40 years participated and were randomised into two groups, each receiving two units of 10 acupuncture treatments, twice a week over a period of five weeks. Group 1 (n = 47) received verum-acupuncture...
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The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate pain intensity-related differences in physical performance and fear of falling in elderly women with osteoporosis. A sample of 82 osteoporotic women (73.8±8.1 years) with and without vertebral fractures was included. Numeric rating scale (NRS) measures (0=no pain, 10=unbearable) were applied to...
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In a previous study it has been shown that acupuncture activates the respiratory burst (RB) of neutrophils as measured by the differences to baseline of the mean channel number of fluorescence intensity (mfi) in volunteers. Since this result could have been affected by a placebo effect, a study has been designed that controls for the different face...
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The aim of this study was to investigate the short- and intermediate-term effects of a flexible spinal orthosis on postural control, neuromuscular performance, physical activity, fall-related self-efficacy, quality of life and perceived pain in osteoporosis. 72 postmenopausal osteoporotic women with and without vertebral fractures were randomly ass...
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Studies have suggested overlaps between various chronic pain conditions and painful temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). The objective of this pilot study was to assess the effectiveness of occlusal splint (OS) therapy on self-reported measures of pain in patients with chronic complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) as compared with a nontreatment gro...
Article
Leech therapy has been shown to be effective for symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of leech therapy in another type of osteoarthritis, osteoarthritis of the first carpometacarpal joint (thumb saddle joint). Thirty-two women with symptomatic painful osteoarthritis of the first carpometacar...
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Currently available therapeutic options for the correction of osteoporotic posture changes are not effective. Rigid or semi-rigid orthoses are only applicable in the early phase after vertebral body fractures, and the knowledge about the efficacy of flexible spinal orthoses is limited. Therefore, the present study is aimed at investigating the effi...
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In contrast to psychological interventions the usefulness of acupuncture as an adjuvant therapy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has not yet been demonstrated. The efficacy of auricular electroacupuncture (EA) was directly compared with autogenic training (AT). Patients with RA (n = 44) were randomized into EA or AT groups. EA and lessons in AT were pe...
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ABSTRACT Objective: Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignant disease in women. The loss of a breast is a highly traumatizing event for the woman; thus, surgical or non-surgical methods of reconstruction can improve quality of life. In the present study, we aimed to assess patient satisfaction with two different models of adhesive external...
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A prospective randomized study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of physical therapy in addition to splint therapy on treatment outcome in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) with respect to objective and subjective parameters. Twenty‐six patients suffering from an arthrogenic TMD and exhibiting a painfully restricted jaw opening...
Article
Cytokines, particularly tumor necrosis factor-alpha, may play an important role in the mediation of mechanical hyperalgesia and autonomic signs in complex regional pain syndrome 1. We performed an IV regional block with low-dose administration of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha antibody, infliximab, in a patient with typical clinical signs of compl...
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La práctica clínica diaria nos demuestra que el tratamiento con acupuntura de los síndromes de dolor osteomuscular suele producir buenos resultados terapéuticos. Ahora bien, no está claro si este efecto se obtiene tan sólo por la aplicación de la acupuntura en puntos acupunturales específicos, o si también se puede conseguir mediante un tratamiento...
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Background The possible advantages of physiotherapy in the treatment of craniomandibular disorders (CMD) is controversially discussed. A prospective randomized study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of physical therapy for treatment outcome in CMD using objective and subjective parameters. Patients and methods A total of 26 patients su...
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Auricular acupuncture can be an effective treatment for acute anxiety, but there is a lack of direct comparisons of acupuncture to proven standard drug treatments. In this study we compared the efficacy of auricular acupuncture with intranasal midazolam, placebo acupuncture, and no treatment for reducing dental anxiety. Patients having dental extra...
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To study the efficacy of a flexible orthotic device in patients with osteoporosis. Open observational study. Fifty patients with osteoporosis. 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...
Article
Opinions of acupuncture experts should always be sought in any lawsuit or claim for compensation involving sequelae of acupuncture treatment. Overall,--in the hands of experienced acupuncturists--acupuncture is very safe but not without minor adverse events. However, serious adverse events are extremely rare, especially the risk of a serious vascul...
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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. A literature search of 3 electronic databases was performed, and only randomized studies comparing acupuncture-treated patients with either untreated or conserva...
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Background: Placebo needles are accepted as the gold standard for the control in acupuncture research. Credibility is one of the essential factors which influence the placebo response. The needling sensations of the real and placebo needles may have a decisive influence on credibility. The aim of the study was therefore to test these sensations fro...
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Kann die Akupunktur „evidenzbasiert” als komplementäres Behandlungsverfahren in der Zahnmedizin eingesetzt werden? Die folgenden Themen werden in diesem Übersichtsartikel erörtert: Kontrolle des Würgereflexes, Behandlung von postoperativem Erbrechen, Behandlung von postoperativen Schmerzen, verbesserte Narkosewirkung, Behandlung von Ängsten, Steige...
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Objective: The efficacy of a flexible trunk brace in osteoporosis patients was investigated. Material and method: An open observational study was performed on 50 osteoporosis patients, in order to investigate the efficacy of a new osteoporosis brace (Osteomed, Thaemert). The outcome parameters were pain, daily activity and individual compliance. Th...
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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...
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Fragestellung: Es wurde die Wirksamkeit einer flexiblen Rumpforthese bei Osteoporosepatienten untersucht. Material und Methodik: Bei 50 Osteoporosepatienten wurde in einer offenen Anwendungsbeobachtung die Wirkung einer neuen Osteoporoseorthese (Osteomed, Fa. Thämert) überprüft. Zielparameter waren Schmerz, Alltagsaktivität und individuelle Complia...
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Der klinische Alltag zeigt, dass die Akupunkturbehandlung muskuloskeletaler Schmerzsyndrome oft zu guten Behandlungsergebnissen führt. Unklar ist, ob dieser Effekt nur durch Akupunktur an spezifischen Akupunkturpunkten erreicht wird oder auch durch eine ungezielte, aber segmentbezogene Akupunkturbehandlung erzielt werden könnte. Diese Fragestellung...
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Ob Okklusionsstörungen zu funktionellen Störungen der Zervikalregion sowie darüber hinausgehend auch zu Dysfunktionen kaudaler Wirbelsäulenabschnitte führen können, ist Gegenstand kontroverser Diskussionen. In einer experimentellen Versuchsanordnung wurde deshalb an 20 gesunden Studenten mit einer künstlich veränderten Okklusion untersucht, ob ein...
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To determine whether needle acupuncture may be useful in the reduction of leg spasticity in a chronic state. Single-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Neurologic outpatient department of a medical school in Germany. Twenty-five patients (14 women) suffering from chronic poststroke leg spasticity with pes equinovarus deformity (Modified As...
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Background: To determine if point location is an important determinant in the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment. The clinical effectiveness of real and sham acupuncture treatment was evaluated in chronic lateral epicondylitis, an example of a musculosceletal pain. The primary outcome parameters were pain intensity, its duration, maximal streng...
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Die Hypothese einer funktionellen Beziehung zwischen dem kraniomandibulären System und anderen Körperregionen ist umstritten. Ziel dieser Pilotstudie war deshalb zu untersuchen, ob ein Zusammenhang zwischen dem kraniomandibulären System, dem kraniozervikalen System und der Lenden-Becken-Hüft-Region besteht. Um diese Hypothese zu testen, wurde die P...
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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...
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Little is known about the influence of acupuncture treatment on the phagocytic immune system. This trial was performed to examine whether multiple acupuncture treatment affects the respiratory burst (RB) of neutrophils, a recognised measure of their cytotoxicity. Placebo-controlled single-blinded study. Eleven volunteers were treated bilaterally wi...
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The aim of this evaluation was to examine correlations between internal derangement of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and cervical spine disorder (CSD). A prospective controlled clinical study was carried out. Thirty patients with signs and symptoms of internal derangement but without any subjective neck problems and 30 age- and gender-matched c...
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To study gender differences of coping with illness strategies in tension-type headaches. 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...
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This chapter performs two studies to evaluate antalgic efficacy and safety of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) administered to MI and peripheral repetitive magnetic stimulation (rMS) administered to the extensor carpi radialis muscle in chronic lateral epicondylitis patients. Invasive electrical motor cortex stimulation (MCS) may...
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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 e...
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The clinical long-term effectiveness of real and sham acupuncture treatment on differentiated pain measurement was evaluated in chronic lateral epicondylitis, an example of a tendomyotic disorder. Randomised, examiner- and patient-blinded controlled clinical study. Outcome measurement: pain at rest, pain on movement, pain on exertion, frequency and...
Article
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 control...
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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....
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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...
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Fragestellung: Patienten mit temporomandibulären Dysfunktionen (TMD) entwickeln häufig Beschwerden der Schulter-Nacken-Region. Unklar ist jedoch, ob asymptomatische Funktionsstörungen der HWS bei einer TMD auch bereits nachweisbar sind, ohne dass Beschwerden der Zervikalregion vorliegen, und ob die Schmerzintensität der TMD einen Einfluss auf die H...
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To evaluate the clinical efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic lateral epicondylitis. In a randomized, investigator- and patient-blinded, controlled clinical study, 23 patients were treated with real acupuncture and 22 patients received sham acupuncture. Patients each received 10 treatments, with two treatments per week. The primary o...
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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...
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Characteristics of hemophilic arthropathy are recurrent bleedings, chronic synovitis and osteochondral destruction. Prophylactic treatment to prevent intraarticular bleeding is essential. If chronic arthritis has already occurred, operative treatment is considered. Alternatively radiosynoviorthesis (RSO) is discussed. We investigated the effect of...
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Objective.—To study the importance of coping with illness strategies in tension-type headache (TTH). Background.—The pathophysiology of TTH is complex, and coping with illness strategies might contribute to the transformation to a chronic form. Methods.—We examined 89 subjects (mean age, 45.6 ± 14.8 years; range, 18 to 72 years) with episodic (n =...
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To test the credibility of a newly designed placebo needle for acupuncture research. Analysis of data on credibility of true and placebo interventions of a randomised, placebo-controlled, patient- and evaluator-blind clinical trial. The study was carried out at a university department for physical medicine and rehabilitation. 68 patients (age 48.1...
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Background.—The pathogenesis of chronic tension-type headache remains unclear, and the role of muscle tension is especially controversial. Botulinum toxin type A, a potent inhibitor of muscle tone, has been used to treat chronic tension-type headache. Objective.—To determine whether clinical response to treatment of chronic tension-type headache wi...
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Kopf- und Gesichtsschmerzen sind ein weites diagnostisches Feld mit unterschiedlichsten Behandlungsansätzen. Physiotherapie und hier vor allem Manuelle Therapie, Thermo- und Mechanotherapie genießen auch in der Zahnheilkunde ein zunehmendes Ansehen. In der Zusammenarbeit mit der Zahnheilkunde - Zahnärztliche Prothetik, Kieferorthopädie, Kieferchiru...
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It is well known that the intake of sulfate-containing natural mineral waters leads to contraction of the gallbladder, probably induced by the release of cholecystokinin (CCK). As early as 1959, there were some hints in the literature of circadian variations in gallbladder response; to find out whether this applies with sulfate as a stimulus, a pre...
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Die chronische Polyarthritis der Kiefergelenke zählt zu den häufigsten Kiefergelenkerkrankungen auf entzündlicher Basis. Sie unterscheidet sich in Pathogenese, Symptomatik und Diagnostik von anderen CMD. Diese Besonderheiten werden hier dargestellt. Eine kausale oder kurative Therapie der chronischen Polyarthritis der Kiefergelenke ist bislang nich...
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Two patients suffering from systemic sclerosis (SSc) were treated with the 25 μ/hr transdermal fentanyl patch for pain from either deltoid muscle tendinitis of the left arm or from ischemia of the left-hand thumb. When the medication was changed to either oral morphine or oral methadone, the effects did not correspond to the drug conversion table....
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Unlabelled: A study with needle acupuncture was performed in tension-type headache employing a new placebo acupuncture Method: Sixty-nine patients (mean age 48.1 years, SD = 14.1) fulfilling the International Headache Society criteria for tension-type headache were randomly assigned to verum or placebo condition. No significant differences betwe...
Article
Fragestellung: 1. Klinische Wirksamkeitsprüfung der Akupunktur als komplementäres Behandlungsverfahren in der Physikalischen Medizin für die Therapie der Koxarthrose. 2. Prüfung einer neuartigen Kontroll-Akupunktur auf ihre Verwendbarkeit in kontrollierten klinischen Studien. Gegenstand: Trotz zunehmender Akzeptanz der Akupunktur, auch im Fachberei...
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The effectiveness of acupuncture treatment in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip was tested. This is a prospective, randomized, controlled, patient- and investigator-blinded clinical trial. The study was performed at a university department for physical medicine and rehabilitation. Sixty-seven patients were separated into two treatment groups....
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A 54-year-old woman suffering from migraine for 35 years was referred to the pain clinic with a changed pattern of headache that had developed over the last 6 weeks. The pain was located in the central forehead region; aggravation in the prone and immediate relief in the supine position led to the hypothesis of a spontaneous low cerebrospinal fluid...
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Hintergrund und Fragestellung: Während in der älteren balneologischen Literatur klare Angaben über die Hautrötung in CO2-Gasbädern in Abhängigkeit von Temperatur und Feuchte vorliegen, wurde in jüngster Zeit die Fähigkeit von CO2-Gasbädern, den transkutanen Sauerstoffpartialdruck (tpO2) zu erhöhen, wiederholt in Zweifel gezogen. Methodik: Zur Kläru...
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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=...
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Full-text available
The effectiveness of acupuncture treatment in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip was tested. This is a prospective, randomized, controlled patient and examiner blinded clinical trial. The study was performed at a university department for physical medicine and rehabilitation. Sixty-seven patients were separated into two treatment groups. Group...
Article
Objectives: The effectiveness of acupuncture treatment in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip was tested. ¶Design: This is a prospective, randomized, controlled patient and examiner blinded clinical trial. ¶Patients and setting: The study was performed at a university department for physical medicine and rehabilitation. Sixty-seven patients wer...
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Ziel der vorliegenden Untersuchung war die Entwicklung und Validierung eines deutschsprachigen Selbstauskunftsmeßinstruments für orale Funktionserkrankungen. Methodik: Nach einem Experten rating wurden 12 Items für das neue Meßinstrument ausgewählt. Der neue Funktionsindex war eingebunden in ein neu definiertes Konstrukt, bestehend aus dem Funktion...