INTRODUCTION Spinal manipulation therapy (SMT) is characterized by specific kinetic and kinematic parameters that can be modulated. The purpose of this study is to investigate fundamental aspects of SMT dose-physiological response relation in humans by varying SMT impulse duration. METHODS Twenty healthy adults were subjected to four different SMT force-time profiles delivered by a servo-cont...

Gout is usually thought of as a peripheral joint disease. However, case reports are available describing gouty lesions in the spine. We report a case of a 51 year old African American woman with no previous history of gout who presented with lower back pain and fever and was found to have multiple small fluid collections in the paraspinal muscles at the L3 to L5 levels on the MRI. She was empir...

PURPOSE Dropped head syndrome is characterized by a gradual forward sagging of the head due to the isolated weakness of the neck extensor muscles. The syndrome has a relatively benign clinical course. To date, there have been no reports of dropped head syndrome in epileptic patients. METHODS Nine patients with intractable epilepsy (mean age, 33.6+/-9.91 years), each presenting with apparent d...

PEARLS Adult-onset Pompe disease (acid maltase deficiency, glycogen storage disease type II) should be considered in the differential diagnosis in the adult patient presenting with slowly progressive selective lower extremity weakness, specifically of the hip flexors. Hip flexion weakness may be the only finding in the earliest stages of this disease. EMG findings of myotonic discharges occurri...

Electromyography is the technique of recording electrical potentials associated with muscular activity. Needle electrodes may be inserted in the muscle being monitored, or surface electrodes may be placed on the skin overlying the muscles being studied. Both techniques have been used for the examination of paraspinal and peripheral muscle function. However, surface EMG and needle EMG are not in...

CONTEXT Low back pain (LBP) is among the most prevalent musculoskeletal conditions in the developed countries. It is a common problem causing disability and imposing a huge economic burden to individuals and state organizations. Imaging plays an important role in diagnosis of the etiology of LBP. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION The electronic databases included: PubMed (1950 to present), Ovid SP Medline...

The report by Dillingham et al. questions the general electromyographic (EMG) wisdom that fibrillation potentials develop and resolve earliest in proximal muscles in a damaged root distribution. The data presented do not allow the authors to make such a judgment. Apparently, patients were selected for entry into the study based on EMG features of cervical radiculopathy requiring denervation in ...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the recruitment of the paraspinal muscles longissimus and iliocostalis during dynamic contractions of superman exercises on stable and unstable surfaces, and during unloaded bodyweight squats. Surface electromyography (EMG) was measured from these two muscles bilaterally while participants performed the exercises. Participants (n = 17, age 24 ± 3.1 y...