Spine
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Quasi-experimental, nonrandomized, nonequivalent, parallel group-controlled study involving before and after telephone surveys of the general population and postal surveys of general practitioners was conducted, with an adjacent state used as a control group. ⋯ A population-based strategy of providing positive messages about back pain improves the beliefs of the general population and general practitioners about back pain and appears to influence medical management.
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For this study, 43 asymptomatic individuals underwent magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine in both supine psoas-relaxed position and supine axial compression in extension. The change in dural cross-sectional area between positions at each disc level was calculated. ⋯ Using magnetic resonance imaging, a significant decrease in dural cross-sectional area after axial loading was found less frequently in asymptomatic than in symptomatic subjects. The decrease was more frequent at L4-L5, and increasingly with age. The load should be 50% of the subject's body weight applied for at least 5 minutes.