EFFECTS OF KINESIO-TAPING VS DRY NEEDLING IN THE MANAGEMENT OF MECHANICAL LOW BACK PAIN

Background of the study: Mechanical pain of musculoskeletal origin, known as nonspecific LBP (NSLBP), has symptoms that change depending on the type of physical activity [1]. About 85% of her LBP patients present in primary care settings are NSLBP patients. Methodology: Randomized control trial (RCT) conducted between between January 2020 and October, 2021, Rawal General and Dental Hospital and Al-Nafees, the hospital in Islamabad. Thirty patients were included in the study. Two participants were discontinued. There were two groups of patients i.e., 15 patients in the KT group and 13 patients in the DN group diagnosed of NSCLBP by orthopedic surgeon and referral to outpatient physiotherapy clinic. The Sample size was calculated using the OpenEpi scale. The Consent form was filled out by the participants before the initiation of the study. Pain Rating Scale, Roland-Morris Disability Index Questionnaire (RMDQ) and Global patient rating scale (PGR) were assessed at baseline, two weeks post-intervention and four weeks post-treatment. Results: Before treatment, there were no differences between the groups for PNRS, RMDQ and PGR. Both DN and KT produced significant improvements in all baseline measures (PNRS, RMDQ and PGR) after two weeks and four weeks of treatment (p<0.05). Considerable improvements were observed in all variables in both groups after treatment. However, Statistical analysis ANOVA showed no significant differences in almost all measures between groups. (p>0.05). Conclusion: Kinesio-taping is as effective as DN in managing back pain. When treating back pain, adding DN or KT to your exercise program can make a significant contribution to your treatment.

Exploring the Differences in Chemistry Achievements of Secondary School Students Across School System and Gender in Quetta, Pakistan

This study aimed to explore academic achievements of secondary school students in Chemistry across schools systems and gender. A newly developed and validated instrument - Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT)-was used for collection of the data. CAT comprised 35 items (25 multiple response questions and 10 constructed response questions). CAT encompassed four content domains of Chemistry; fundamental chemistry, physical state and particulate structure of matter, periodic table and periodicity of elements, and acids, bases & solutions, extracted from National curriculum for secondary classes. Furthermore, items were categorized on three cognitive domains; knowledge, application, and reasoning. CAT was administered to 374 grade 10 students who were randomly selected from public (n=6) and private (n=6) schools of Quetta, Pakistan. A total of 190 (50.8%) boys and 184 (49.2%) girls participated in the research study.Results demonstrated that the students scored only 30% of the total score exhibiting a weak conceptual understanding in the selected concepts of chemistry. Comparison across school systems favored private school students (p<0.01). Of the four content domains students from private schools have performed significantly better than students from public schools in physical state and particulate structure of matter (p<0.001). Of the three cognitive domains students from private schools performed significantly better than students from public schools in reasoning (p<0.01).Furthermore, gender comparison depicted that girls outperformed their boys counterparts (p<0.001). Of the four content domains girls performed significantly better (p<0.001 for all three) than boys in three content domains except periodic table and periodicity of elements. Of the three cognitive domains the girls performed significantly better than the boys (p<0.001 for all three).Using CAT students' conceptual understanding can be explored as well as their corresponding teachers which might lead to enable researchers to find out the impact of teachers' conceptual understanding in students achievement in Chemistry.The study also generates opportunities for further research in the area of students’ learning outcomes in secondary schools.