Spine
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The seat and back contact force, pressure distribution, lumbar lordosis, and low back muscle activities associated with a new seat design with adjustable ischial support and backrest were investigated using kinematic, kinetic, electromyographic, and radiographic measurements. ⋯ Sitting with reduced ischial support and fitted backrest to the lower spine altered the contact area, reduced peak pressure under the ischia, reduced muscular activity, maintained total and segmental lumbar lordosis, rotated the sacrum forward, and increased lumbar intervertebral disc heights, which could potentially reduce low back pain.
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Using a validated finite element model, the biomechanical effects of pars defect in a lumbar segment with and without different degrees of slip (up to 50% slip) were studied. ⋯ The stiffness of a spondylolisthetic motion segment decreases as the slip increases. Lateral bending and torsion are moment directions causing the greatest resulting motions.
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Multiphase cross-sectional survey of musculoskeletal pain. ⋯ Adjustment for pain at other sites enabled assessment of whether observed associations were with spinal pain itself or with the other sites of pain. Obesity is an important independent predictor of back pain and its severity. This has implications for primary prevention. The prevalence of spinal pain with disability continues to rise into old age. This has implications for healthcare planning.
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Case Reports
Palsy of the C5 nerve root after midsagittal-splitting laminoplasty of the cervical spine.
The imaging characteristics of postoperative C5 nerve root palsy after midsagittal-splitting laminoplasty for cervical myelopathy, including those observed on plain radiography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging, were analyzed. ⋯ The preliminary data suggest that patients who have OPLL with marked anterior compression on spinal cord at C3 can be at risk for postoperative C5 nerve root palsy after midsagittal-splitting laminoplasty. Also, a postoperative increase in cervical lordosis may be the cause of postoperative nerve root palsy.