Spine
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Biomechanical stability using four different posterior cervical fixation techniques was evaluated in human cadaveric spine. ⋯ All four reconstruction techniques restored the stability of the cervical motion segment to at least the level of the intact motion segment before destabilization. An alternative cervical posterior fixation technique, the Wavy Rod system, was considered the most effective technique in stabilizing a cervical motion segment, particularly in axial compression and flexion extension loading.
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Qualitative study design, using semi-structured interviews. ⋯ Improvement of the quality of back pain care may still be possible. Implementation strategies should aim at training physicians in communication skills, especially about subjects for debate, where patients' beliefs and experiences color their expectations.
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A retrospective study was conducted to investigate 21 patients found during spinal surgery to have paraspinal masses of dystrophic calcification (tumoral calcinosis). ⋯ Awareness of tumoral calcinosis of the spine may prevent unwarranted diagnoses of a more serious lesion in patients with characteristic magnetic resonance imaging changes. Also, this awareness may prevent pathologists from interpreting lesional tissue as nondiagnostic when other diagnoses are suspected clinically. This process may be a manifestation of degenerative spinal disease that has become so dominant that the underlying processes are obscured.