BACKGROUND Ultrasound is frequently used to measure activity in the lumbar multifidus muscle (LMM). However previous reliability studies on diagnostic ultrasound and LMM have included a limited number of subjects and few have used Bland-Altman's Limits of Agreement (LOA). Further one does not know if activity affects the subjects' ability to contract the LMM. METHODS From January 2012 to Dece...

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the differential effects of fixation of the thoracolumbar junction on the activity of the thoracic and lumbar muscle groups with and without the abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM). [Subjects and Methods] The participants were 40 healthy adults. During trunk extension, thoracic and lumbar muscle activities were assessed using surface elect...

PURPOSE To determine the value of MR criteria in differentiating subligamentous from supraligamentous lumbar disk herniations. METHODS A retrospective review of surgical reports and MR images of 50 patients undergoing first-time lumbar surgery was performed. Three MR imaging criteria were assessed: the presence and integrity of a low-signal-intensity line posterior to the disk herniation, the...

BACKGROUND The aim of the present study was to assess plantar pressure distribution and musculoskeletal symptoms following the use of customized insoles among female assembly line workers. METHODS The study included 29 female assembly line workers (age, 29.76 ± 5.79 years; weight, 63.79 ± 12.11 kg) with musculoskeletal symptoms who work predominantly while standing. The Nordic Musculoskeletal...

A series of cervical myelograms performed by direct puncture resulted in almost identical incidence of side effects, more contrast within the skull, more frequent EEG abnormalities and only slightly better radiographic quality than in a comparable series of patients in whom the contrast was run up from the lumbar region.

seven caspian miniature horses, aged above two years, were used for this study. the skeleton of these horses were cleaned and prepared using appropriate techniques. the vertebral column was studied and photographed. the vertebral column in one of these horses showed variations in thoracic, lumbar and sacral region. the vertebral formola was c7, t19,l5,s6 and a pair of 19th rib was fused with th...

Objective: To evaluate the association of Quality of Work Life (QWL) with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among nursing professionals working in the surgical unit. Methods: A quantitative descriptive, cross-sectional and correlational approach, in which 211 nursing workers participated, from 11 hospitals in Londrina, Paraná, Brazil. For data collection, three instruments were used: sociodemogr...

Eck and collaborators are to be congratulated for detailing an elegant treatment approach to thoracolumbar burst fractures in their ‘‘Minimally invasive corpectomy and posterior stabilization for lumbar burst fracture’’ case report [1]. Although satisfying, their report leaves us with questions that these authors (and the hundreds of contributors before them) have been unable to answer. Some of...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine the interrater and intrarater reliability of spinal extension and flexion measurements using a skin-surface (Spinal Mouse; Idiag, Voletswil, Switzerland) instrument. METHODS Spinal curvature was measured during standing, full flexion, and full extension in 81 healthy children (10.6 +/- 1.7 years) by 3 raters on 2 separate occasions. Intraclas...