Objective
To determine whether adding extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) to conventional treatment enhances pain, function, and electrophysiological functionality in females with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).
Methods
One hundred females (25–40 years) diagnosed with CTS were randomly allocated to a control group that received conventional therapy and an experimental group that received the same program augmented with ESWT. Outcome measures included the symptom severity scale (SSS), function severity scale (FSS), pain intensity assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS). In addition, distal sensory latency/distal motor latency (DSL/DML), and sensory nerve conduction velocity/motor nerve conduction velocity (SNCV/MNCV) were measured using a nerve conduction velocity study.
Results
The experimental group exhibited significantly greater improvements in SSS, VAS, DSL, DML, SNCV, compared to controls (all p≤0.05). However, changes in MNCV and FSS were non-significant (p>0.05).
Conclusion
Integrating ESWT into rehabilitation enhances function, pain, and electrophysiological recovery in females with CTS.

Objective
To evaluate the effects of patella taping on pain and disability in symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA). Method: Using a within-subjects study design, 54 patients were tested under three conditions in random order: untaped, wearing therapeutic knee tape and wearing control knee tape. Outcome measure was pain as measured by visual analogue scale and disability as measured by walking speed, timed up and go test, and step test. Results: The therapeutic tape significantly reduced pain, when compared with the control and untaped conditions (p＜0.05). Also significant improvement in disability was ob-served on timed up and go test and step test in therapeutic tape compared with the control and untaped conditions (p＜0.05). But there was no significant difference on walking speed among three conditions (p＞0.05). A significant association between change of pain in stairs and lateral patellofemoral joint space was evident (r=0.503, p＜0.05). Conclusion: Therapeutic knee tape is a simple, inexpensive strategy that increases the treatment options for therapists and patients in the conservative management of knee OA. (J Korean Acad Rehab Med 2005; 29: 398-405)

Objective
To evaluate whether the change of heel pad thickness improves the pain after Modified Low-Dye Taping (MLDT) in the patient with heel pad atrophy. Method Thirty-five feet of 20 volunteers with heel pad atrophy were selected for the measurement of heel-pad thickness and compressibility index (CI) of the center of calcaneus bone using ultrasound. The subjects were laid in prone with the knees flexed to 90^o, and an electronic body weight scale was inserted beneath the anterior surface of their knees to take measurements of both UHPT (unloaded heel pad thickness) and LHPT (6 kg-loaded heel pad thickness), which were repeated 3 times respectively. CI was calculated base on LHPT divided by UHPT. After MLDT, the same method was repeated. visual analogue scale (VAS) score was checked at first visit and followed up at second visit. Results Prior to MLDT, the average value of UHPT (cm), LHPT (cm) and CI value was 0.92±0.11, 0.25±0.06 and 0.27±0.04 respectively. After MLDT, the average was 1.24±0.17 for UHPT (cm) and 0.42±0.11, for LHPT (cm) while CI stood at 0.33±0.06. VAS before MLDT was 7.35±1.27 and after MLDT was 3.50±1.36, which presented 54% of decrease than initial. Conclusion It was confirmed that the average values of the heel-pad thickness, CI and VAS of patients with heel pad atrophy were improved for MLDT. Accordingly it is considered that application of MLDT is an efficacious treatment and thus further study is needed to develop foot orthoses for heel pad atrophy using the principle of MLDT.