Spine
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A retrospective review of children with neuromuscular scoliosis treated at our institution with posterior spinal fusion and instrumentation including iliac screws. ⋯ The use of screw fixation in the ilium as a means of spinopelvic anchorage is safe and effective in the treatment of neuromuscular scoliosis. The use of 2 screws in each iliac wing provides more stable fixation with fewer implant-related complications than using a single screw.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of three types of physiotherapy used to reduce chronic low back pain disability: a pragmatic randomized trial with economic evaluation.
Pragmatic, randomized, assessor blinded, clinical trial with economic analysis. ⋯ For chronic low back pain, all three physiotherapy regimens improved disability and other relevant health outcomes, regardless of their content. Physiotherapist-led pain management classes offer a cost-effective alternative to usual outpatient physiotherapy and are associated with less healthcare use. A more widespread adoption of physiotherapist-led pain management could result in considerable cost savings for healthcare providers.
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Prospective case-control study testing a new diagnostic method. ⋯ The study demonstrates that it is feasible and safe to measure NO with a real time-sensor in or around the facet joints. The findings of higher concentrations of NO in the perifacetal region in chronic low back patients compared with healthy controls indicate that the degenerative process of the joints in these patients may cause increased NO production. The observation of higher NO concentrations in the perifacetal region in patients responding to corticosteroid/local anesthetic infiltration indirectly suggest a more pronounced inflammatory process in these patients.
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A retrospective assessment of 12 patients with pyogenic spondylitis accompanied by iliopsoas abscess treated by continuous irrigation with our new method between March 2003 and July 2005. ⋯ This treatment is minimally invasive and useful in carefully selected patients with pyogenic spondylitis complicated by iliopsoas abscess.
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Comparative Study
The response of the nucleus pulposus of the lumbar intervertebral discs to functionally loaded positions.
Asymptomatic volunteers underwent magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how different positions affect lumbar intervertebral discs. ⋯ These results support for the first time the validity of clinical assumptions about disc behavior in functional positions: sitting postures may increase risk of posterior derangement, and prone and supine may be therapeutic for symptoms caused by posterior disc displacement.