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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Nationally 62% of individuals in Ireland have internet access. Previous published work has suggested that internet use is higher among those with low back pain. We aimed to determine the levels of internet access and use amongst an elective spinal outpatient population and determine what characteristics influence these. ⋯ In our practice, internet access is consistent with national statistics and use is comparable to previous reports. Approximately, one quarter of outpatients will use the internet to research their spinal condition. Should we use this medium to disseminate information we need to be aware some groups may not have access.
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Due to the aging population, degenerative scoliosis is a growing clinical problem. It is associated with back pain and radicular symptoms. The pathogenesis of degenerative scoliosis lies in degenerative changes of the spinal structures, such as the intervertebral disc, the facet joints and the vertebrae itself. ⋯ This would indicate that also in degenerative scoliosis the innate curvature and rotational pattern of the spine plays a role in the direction of the curve. Unilateral symptoms were not coupled to the curve direction. It is believed that the symptoms are related to local and more specific degenerative changes besides the scoliotic curve itself.
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In chronic low back pain patients (CLBP), neuromuscular and pain intensity have been identified as contributing factors in the disability of the individual. However, it is unclear whether pain intensity influences neuromuscular activation and if directed attention mediates this relationship. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of directed attention in individuals with different pain intensities on back extensor activation profiles. ⋯ For males, a rapid decline in activation at mid-extension occurred, whereas females showed delayed activation at the beginning of extension. Overall, this study demonstrated that directed attention on pain had an effect on trunk muscle temporal recruitment, and that this relationship differed between sexes and pain groups. This suggests that sex-specific mechanisms may alter the neuromuscular control of the spine in CLBP patients for different pain levels.
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Clinical Trial
Clinical outcomes of patients with lumbar disc herniation, selected for one-level open-discectomy and microdiscectomy.
The aim of our study was twofold: firstly, to compare the preoperative and postoperative results at mid-term follow-up periods along with the data of the control group. Secondly, to evaluate the effectiveness among open-discectomy and microdiscectomy surgical groups. In the present study, we investigated a cohort of 100 patients with the lumbar disc herniation causing low back pain compared to 100 subjects of the control group with the non-specific low back pain by applying physical activity, pain scale, Short Form 36 General Health Questionnaire and additional postoperative records of patient's satisfaction and complications level, consumption of analgesics, and return to work status. ⋯ The analgesics were still indicated for 21% of the patients. The results of the present study suggest of sufficient decompression in both surgical groups, as the health-related quality of life parameters (Oswestry, VAS and SF-36) were defined as clinically improved. Regardless of persisted minor pain in both areas, it remained greater in the low back than in the leg, which should be held for beneficial to decompressive surgery.
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The purpose of this prospective, single site cohort quasi-experimental study was to determine the responsiveness of the numerical rating scale (NRS), Roland-Morris disability questionnaire (RMDQ), Oswestry disability index (ODI), pain self-efficacy questionnaire (PSEQ) and the patient-specific functional scale (PSFS) in order to determine which would best measure clinically meaningful change in a chronic low back pain (LBP) population. Several patient-based outcome instruments are currently used to measure treatment effect in the chronic LBP population. However, there is a lack of consensus on what constitutes a "successful" outcome, how an important improvement/deterioration has been defined and which outcome measure(s) best captures the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions for the chronic LBP population. ⋯ The exact value of the MCID is not a fixed value and is dependent on the assessment method used to calculate the score change. Based on ROC curve analysis the PSFS and PSEQ were more responsive than the other scales in measuring change in patients with chronic LBP following participation in a back class programme. However, due to the small sample size, the lack of observed worsening of symptoms over time, the single centre and intervention studied these results which need to be interpreted with caution.