Spine
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Electrophysiologic recordings were obtained from low threshold primary afferent neurons innervating lumbar multifidus and longissimus muscles in the anesthetized cat. ⋯ This preliminary report suggests that abrupt changes in neural discharge (instantaneous frequency) of low threshold muscle mechanoreceptors of the lumbar spine occur as the duration of a biomechanical load approaches that typically used during spinal manipulation. These changes could comprise part of the mechanism contributing to this intervention's physiologic effects. Further studies are warranted to better understand the signaling properties of a wider range of sensory receptors as well as determine the central effects of these high frequency discharges.
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A historic cohort to determine short-term complications after 115 corrective osteotomies of the cervical and lumbar spine in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. ⋯ High complication rates in this group of patients are partly due to the difficult surgery but also to the underlying disease. The surgery should be concentrated in specialized centers.
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The progression of intervertebral disc degeneration following anterolateral "stab" of adult rabbit lumbar discs by 16-gauge hypodermic needle to a limited (5-mm) depth was studied for up to 24 weeks using magnetic resonance imaging, radiograph, and histologic outcome measures. ⋯ Stabbing the anterolateral anulus fibrosus of adult rabbit lumbar discs with a 16-gauge hypodermic needle to a limited (5-mm) depth results in a number of slowly progressive and reproducible magnetic resonance imaging, radiograph, and histologic changes over 24 weeks that show a similarity to changes seen in human intervertebral disc degeneration. This model would appear suitable for studying pathogenesis and pathophysiology of intervertebral disc degeneration and testing safety and efficacy of novel treatments of intervertebral disc degeneration.