Spine
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A 22-month prospective cohort study. ⋯ Once established, chronic low back pain is persistent. Most patients with chronic low back pain seek little care, and a majority are employed. Future research should emphasize maintenance of employment and function.
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A prospective evaluation of pulmonary function in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis undergoing surgical correction. ⋯ 1) Patients with chest cage disruption during surgical treatment showed a decline in pulmonary function at 3 months after surgery. 2) In contrast, patients without chest cage disruption showed an improvement in pulmonary function at 3 months after surgery. 3) Irrespective of the surgical approach used for spinal arthrodesis, postoperative pulmonary function tests (absolute values) returned to preoperative values at 2 years after surgery. 4) Patients who had no chest cage disruption experienced a significantly greater improvement in two of their pulmonary function values at 2 years after surgery than patients with chest cage disruption.
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Comparative Study
Increased fusion rates with cervical plating for two-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.
A retrospective review of all patients surgically treated with a two-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with and without anterior plate fixation by a single surgeon. ⋯ The addition of plate fixation for two-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion is a safe procedure with no significant increase in complication rates. The pseudarthrosis rates are significantly higher in patients treated without plate fixation. No nonunions occurred in the patients treated with plate fixation. There was significantly less disc space collapse and kyphotic deformity with the plated fusions than with the nonplated fusions, in which a pseudarthrosis developed. The complication rates for plated fusions are extremely low and do not differ from those for nonplated fusions.
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Biography Historical Article
Giovanni Alfonso Borelli: "Father of spinal biomechanics".
The first modern textbook on spinal biomechanics was written by Giovanni Alfonso Borelli in 1680. A mathematician, astronomer, and physicist by trade, Borelli became consumed in the physical laws of nature and the human body. His work served as a monumental contribution to ascertain, in depth and with undiminished accuracy, the basic biomechanical principles of the human body.