Spine
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In this study, the authors analyzed the results of the release of the medial superior cluneal nerve in a prospective series of 19 patients with suspected entrapment. ⋯ Entrapment neuropathy of the medial superior cluneal nerve is a rare and easily treatable cause of unilateral low back pain.
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A nationwide, cohort-based cross-sectional questionnaire survey as a part of a population study. ⋯ Low back pain is a relatively common complaint at adolescence. In addition, a significant part of the pains are recurrent or chronic already with 14-year-old adolescents.
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Comparative Study
Growth changes of solidly fused kyphotic bloc after surgery for tuberculosis. Comparison of four procedures.
A study to analyze the changes of the spinal deformity during the growth period, with regard to different operations for spinal tuberculosis in children. ⋯ Radical anterior surgery for spinal tuberculosis destroys the anterior growth and limits the capacity for spinal remodeling. Therefore, it should be avoided, if it is not absolutely necessary, for the healing of the infection or the primary correction of the tuberculous deformity.
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Clinical Trial
Prediction of success from a multidisciplinary treatment program for chronic low back pain.
The study included 90 disabled patients with chronic low back pain recruited from a pain clinic who were admitted to an 8-week program of functional restoration and behavioral support. Initial evaluations included a medical examination, rating of the physical impairment, a personal interview, a visual analogue scale to record pain intensity, an assessment of limitations for daily activities, a pain disability index, a depression and psychovegetative scale, and a scale to evaluate general living standards. The physical assessment included different flexibility measurements, measurement of power and endurance through standardized exercises, and measurements of isokinetic trunk and lifting strength and general endurance. The measurements were repeated at the end of the 8-week program and thereafter an intervals of 6 and 12 months. Final analyses were carried out on 82 patients. ⋯ This study has demonstrated that the most important variable in determining a successful treatment of chronic low back pain is the reduction of subjective feelings of disability in patients.
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Occlusion of the infrarenal abdominal aorta was applied to adult rabbits, which induced spinal cord ischemia, followed by disocclusion and reperfusion. Cortical somatosensory- and motor-evoked potentials were monitored continuously up to 24 hours and correlated to hind limb motor and sensory status. ⋯ Reperfusion injuries to the spinal cord might occur in the rabbit model after disocclusion. Cortical somatosensory-evoked potentials seemed to be a very sensitive index for spinal cord ischemia, whereas motor-evoked potentials correlated well with the course of reperfusion injuries after disocclusion and reflected long-term follow-up hind limb motor function better than cortical somatosensory-evoked potentials.