Spine
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A prospective evaluation of the incidence of low back pain in college athletes was undertaken. ⋯ Athletes with lower extremity acquired ligamentous laxity or overuse may be at risk for the development of noncontact low back pain during athletic competition. Female athletes with lower extremity involvement appeared to have a higher incidence of low back pain treatment compared with their male counterparts. Inflexibility of the lower extremities or leg length discrepancy were not associated with future low back pain treatment.
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The influence of ketorolac on spinal fusion was studied in a retrospective review of 288 patients who underwent an instrumented spinal fusion. ⋯ These data suggest that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs significantly inhibit spinal fusion at doses typically used for postoperative pain control. The authors recommend that these drugs be avoided in the early postoperative period.
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Surface electromyographic activities were recorded from bilateral trunk muscles as test participants maintained a 50% maximum, voluntary, isometric, lateral bend contraction to volitional exhaustion. ⋯ The trunk responded to a prolonged, lateral bend contraction by increasing co-contraction as agonist trunk muscles fatigued. It was proposed that the fatigue compromised neural coordination and that the co-contraction served to maintain spine stability.