The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society
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In a small prospective study assessing 10 symptomatic and 10 asymptomatic subjects, Schellhas et al. compared cervical discography to magnetic resonance imaging. Within that study he reported on the distribution of pain for the C3-C4 to C6-C7 levels. Four years later, Grubb and Ellis reported retrospective data from his 12-year experience using cervical discography from C2-C3 to C7-T1 in 173 patients. To date, no large prospective study defining pain referral patterns for each cervical disc has been performed. ⋯ In conclusion, these results confirm the observations of prior investigators that cervical internal disc disruption can elicit axial and peripheral symptoms. The particular patterns of pain generation allow the discographer to preprocedurally anticipate disc levels to assess. With these data, the number of disc punctures that are required can be limited rather than routinely assessing all cervical discs.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Prospective randomized study of the Charite artificial disc: data from two investigational centers.
For decades there has been a desire to restore motion of a painful degenerated spinal segment. Artificial discs have been used in Europe for almost 20 years. In the few reports available in the literature, the results have been promising. However, there have been no prospective randomized studies comparing artificial discs with spinal fusion. ⋯ In this prospective randomized study, both surgical groups improved significantly. Complications of total disc replacement were similar to those encountered with anterior lumbar interbody fusion. Total disc replacement appears to be a viable alternative to fusion for the treatment of single-level symptomatic disc degeneration unresponsive to nonoperative management.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
The Lumbar I/F Cage for posterior lumbar interbody fusion with the variable screw placement system: 10-year results of a Food and Drug Administration clinical trial.
The Lumbar I/F Cage is a carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) device designed to separate the mechanical and device functions of interbody fusion. A Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) clinical study of the CFRP cage was conducted during an enrollment period from 1991 to 1993. Based on the 2-year results of this study, the cage was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in February 1999. Since then, the Lumbar I/F Cage device has become widely used in the United States. ⋯ The high rate of clinical success, fusion success, and patient satisfaction at 24 months was maintained at 10-year follow-up. Adjacent segment degeneration was common but was usually not clinically significant.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Multidisciplinary rehabilitation versus usual care for chronic low back pain in the community: effects on quality of life.
Multidisciplinary biopsychosocial rehabilitation has been shown in controlled studies to improve pain and function in patients with chronic back pain. However, specialized back pain rehabilitation centers are rare and only a few patients can participate on this therapy. Implementation of multidisciplinary rehabilitation services in community medicine may enhance both early availability and treatment capacity for comprehensive back pain rehabilitation. ⋯ MRP is promising to improve health-related quality of life for patients with chronic back pain in the community. Before implementation of MRP in the repertoire of community medicine, superiority of MRP over usual care should be confirmed by a randomized controlled trial.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Evaluation and analysis of patient outcomes with an intrasegmental fixation system in lumbar spinal fusion.
A new spinal fixation system with polydirectional screws and modular links with interconnecting radial serrations has been developed. The system allows the linking of multiple points of fixation, two points at a time (intrasegmental fixation), thus eliminating the need for intraoperative contouring of rods or plates. ⋯ The results of these analyses show consistent patient outcomes regardless of the number of levels fused with an intrasegmental system. This may be attributable to the increased biomechanical strength of the system at each segment, coupled with the ability of intrasegmental fixation to maintain sagittal plane balance through preservation of the patient's lordotic curve.