Articles: low-back-pain.
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Bracing is frequently prescribed following lumbar surgery for degenerative conditions. However, previous studies failed to demonstrate the advantage of postoperative lumbar bracing in both short- and long-term outcome in terms of pain, quality of life and fusion rate. The purpose of this study was to assess the prescription patterns and rationale for postoperative bracing amongst spinal surgeons in Belgium. ⋯ Postoperative bracing was prescribed by Belgian spinal surgeons following more than one-third of lumbar procedures. This was underpinned by beliefs regarding pain alleviation and higher fusion rate. Interestingly, based on the scientific literature these beliefs have been demonstrated to be false. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.
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In vivo quantification of intervertebral motion through imaging has progressed to a point where biomarkers for low back pain are emerging. This makes possible deeper study of the condition's biometrics. However, the measurement of change over time involves error. The purpose of this prospective investigation is to determine the intrasubject repeatability of six in vivo intervertebral motion parameters using quantitative fluoroscopy. ⋯ Disc height and IV-RoM measurement using QF could be considered for randomised trials, while laxity, MSI and translation could be considered for moderators, correlates or mediators of patient-reported outcomes. MSV had both poor reliability and agreement over 6 weeks. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.
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Retrospective longitudinal cohort analysis of patients diagnosed in 2010, with continuous enrollment 6 months prior to and 12 months following the initial visit. ⋯ 3.
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Clinical Trial
Short-term results of intrathecal injection of low-dose bupivacaine in outpatients with chronic low back and lower extremity pain.
To investigate the safety and efficacy of intrathecal injection as an alternative to epidural injection for analgesia. ⋯ Intrathecal injection of low-dose bupivacaine offers a safe and effective treatment for chronic low back and lower extremity pain.
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Our prior study revealed that people with non-specific low back pain (LBP) who self-reported a > 30% improvement in disability after SMT demonstrated significant post-treatment improvements in spinal stiffness, dynamic muscle thickness and disc diffusion, while those not having self-reported improvement did not have these objective changes. The mechanism underlying this differential post-SMT response remains unknown. This exploratory secondary analysis aimed to determine whether persons with non-specific LBP who respond to spinal SMT have unique lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings compared to SMT non-responders. ⋯ The current secondary analysis suggests that the spines of SMT responders appear to differ from non-responders with respect to degeneration changes in posterior joints and disc diffusion. Although this analysis was preliminary, it provides a new direction to investigate the mechanisms underlying SMT and the existence of discrete forms of treatment-specific LBP. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.