European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
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Coccygodynia is a pathological condition associated with pain-discomfort all around the bottom end of the spine. The aetiology and the intensity of the symptoms may defer significantly. The effectiveness of the surgical treatment remains obscure. ⋯ Patients with history of spinal or rectal disorders, as well as idiopathic or with compensation issues, had less predictable outcome than those with history of trauma or childbirth. Coccygectomy can provide pain relief to as high as 85% of the cases. The most common reported complication was wound infection.
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The traditional surgical treatment of severe spinal deformities, both in adult and pediatric patients, consisted of a 360° approach. Posterior-based spinal osteotomy has recently been reported as a useful and safe technique in maximizing kyphosis and/or kyphoscoliosis correction. It obviates the deleterious effects of an anterior approach and can increase the magnitude of correction both in the coronal and sagittal plane. ⋯ According to our experience, posterior-based thoracic pedicle subtraction osteotomies represent a valuable tool in the surgical treatment of severe pediatric spinal deformities, even in revision cases. A dramatic correction of both the coronal and sagittal profile may be achieved. Mandatory the use of a pedicle screws-only instrumentation and a continuous intra-operative neuromonitoring to obviate catastrophic neurologic complications.
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Low back pain (LBP) due to degenerative disc disease (DDD) is a common condition that can be treated along a continuum of care: from conservative therapies to several surgical choices. Nucleus arthroplasty is an emerging technology that could potentially fill part of the gap in the spine continuum of care. The introduction of recent technologies that allow the replacement of the degenerated disc nucleus using prosthetic devices may be considered an additional therapeutic tool that can be used by the surgeon in selected cases of LBP due to DDD. ⋯ Although preliminary, the initial results are encouraging. The absence of any major intra-operative and post-operative complications supports the design rationale of the NUBAC™, being less invasive comparing to total disc replacement (TDA) and with a low rate of surgical risk. The effectiveness of data as seen in 2-year follow-up on both VAS and ODI have also suggested that the NUBAC™ could be considered a viable treatment option for patients with LBP caused by DDD.
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The effect of physical activity on neck and low back pain is still controversial. No systematic review has been conducted on the association between daily physical activity and neck and low back pain. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between physical activity and the incidence/prevalence of neck and low back pain. ⋯ Of high-quality studies, there was limited evidence for no association between physical activity and neck pain in workers and strong evidence for no association in school children. Conflicting evidence was found for the association between physical activity and low back pain in both general population and school children. Literature with respect to the effect of physical activity on neck and low back pain was too heterogeneous and more research is needed before any final conclusion can be reached.
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Case Reports Comparative Study
Atlanto-axial joint of atlanto-axial subluxation patients due to rheumatoid arthritis before and after surgery: morphological evaluation using CT reconstruction.
This study investigated the preoperative morphology and postoperative fusion of the atlanto-axial joint (AAJ) in patients with atlanto-axial subluxation (AAS) due to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using computed tomography (CT). Furthermore, we examined the relationship between the preoperative morphology of AAJ and other radiographic results. Thirty patients with AAS due to RA treated by C1-2 transarticular screw fixation (TSF) were reviewed. ⋯ In conclusion, this study showed that a destructive abnormality of subchondral bone in the AAJ induced an enlargement of the ADI and anterior inclination of the atlas in patients with AAS due to RA. The current study also showed that fusion in the AAJ was demonstrated in 14 of 30 patients after C1/2 TSF. This was easy to recognize in AAS patients whose joint destruction extended to the subchondral bone.