Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jan 2000
The effect of extracorporeal shock waves on joint cartilage--an in vivo study in rabbits.
The application of extracorporeal shock waves has become a new mode of treatment for affections of the locomotor apparatus such as calcifying tendinitis, epicondylitis humeri radialis, calcaneodynia and pseudarthrosis. The treatment often takes place in the vicinity of joints. Up to now no systematic data have been published about possible side-effects on joint cartilage. ⋯ The left lateral femoral condyle of each animal was treated with 2000 shock waves of 1.2 mJ/mm2; the right condyle served as control. Macroscopical, radiological and histological analysis at 0, 3, 12 and 24 weeks after treatment showed no pathological changes in the joint cartilage. We conclude that extracorporeal shock wave treatment does not cause damage to the joint cartilage of growing rabbits.
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Multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED) is a relatively uncommon inherited disorder of epiphyseal maturation. Affected individuals may have a degree of short-limbed dwarfism, short stubby digits, and stiff or painful joints. We report two families of MED and emphasize the variations of joint involvement. ⋯ No apparent hip lesion was present. In family B, the hip joint was predominantly affected, followed by the knee and ankle joints, and the deformity was severer than that in family A. These observations suggest that MED is a group of heterogeneous disorders.
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jan 2000
Can skin surface pressure under a cast reveal intracompartmental pressure?
Although monitoring intracompartmental pressure (IP) under a cast is very important, it is not possible to measure it in every patient undergoing cast treatment. This study aims to answer the question of whether skin surface pressure (SSP) under a cast can reveal IP. A plaster cast was applied to a sculpted inflatable forearm model with dorsal and volar compartments. ⋯ The mean correlation coefficient was 0.973 (P = 0.000) (SD 0.024, range 0.916-0.997). Measuring the pressure between the skin and cast can monitor IP. SSP monitoring can help the physician, patient or parents in the follow-up of patients undergoing cast treatment.
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jan 2000
Mechanical properties of a rat patellar tendon stress-shielded in situ.
The effects of stress deprivation on the mechanical properties of the patellar tendon (PT) were studied using 14 albino rats. The PT was stress-shielded with cerclages on one side, while the contralateral patellar tendon served as a sham-operated control. After 10 weeks, paired load-strain as well as load-relaxation experiments were performed (11 and 3 specimen pairs, respectively). ⋯ The time constant significantly decreased in the stress-shielded specimens under 5 N loads, which may be considered 'physiological'. Tissue remodeling might explain the observed changes in the viscoelastic behaviour of the stress-shielded tendons. Loading, even in the physiological range of normal daily activity, may lead to an elongation of previously stress-shielded tendons or ligaments and consequently alter the behaviour of a joint.