Spine
-
Comparative Study
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory profiles in persons with or without low back pain. A 20-year follow-up study.
A general health survey including a cross-sectional study of 404 men and women aged 50 years who underwent follow-up evaluation at ages 60 and 70 years. ⋯ Elevations of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Hypochondriasis-Depression-Hysteria scales were shown in persons with a history of low pack pain. The results indicated that low back pain is preceded by elevated Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory scales was not supported.
-
Comparative Study
The dominant role of psychosocial risk factors in the development of chronic low back pain disability.
An inception cohort design was used in which 421 patients were evaluated systematically with a standard battery of psychosocial assessment tests (Structured Interview for DSM-III-R Diagnosis, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, and Million Visual Pain Analog Scale) within 6 weeks of acute back pain onset. ⋯ These results show the presence of a robust "psychosocial disability factor" that is associated with those injured workers who are likely to develop chronic low back pain disability problems. Based on these data, a statistical algorithm has been generated that can identify those acute patients who will require early intervention to prevent the development of chronic disability. The second major result is that preinjury or concomitant psychopathology does not appear to predispose patients to chronic pain disability, although high rates of psychopathology have been shown in chronic low back pain. Future research should be directed at emotional vulnerability and psychosocial events in the period after the injury that may lead to chronicity.
-
Samples of human lumbar (L3-L4) anulus fibrosus from four different anatomic sites (anterior outer, posterolateral inner), ranging from normal to severely degenerate, were studied in uniaxial tension and measured for water content. ⋯ The dramatic changes in morphology, composition, and structure that occur in anulus fibrosus with aging and degeneration are accompanied by specific variations in the tensile properties, which were generally small in magnitude. Position of the anulus fibrosus within the intervertebral disc, particularly in the radial direction, appeared to be the most important variable affecting anulus fibrosus tensile properties. This dependence on position did not change with either aging or degeneration. Results from the present study may be useful in future finite element models to assess how altered material properties of the anulus fibrosus during degeneration and aging may affect the mechanics of the entire intervertebral disc.
-
This study was done to assess the pathophysiology of neurogenic intermittent claudication by measuring the epidural pressure at walking. ⋯ The pressure was high in spinal stenosis and low in normal individuals. The increase of epidural pressure at simple walking was higher than walking with lumbar flexion. Intermittent compression to the nerve roots during walking may be a cause of neurogenic intermittent claudication.