Scandinavian journal of rehabilitation medicine
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Scand J Rehabil Med · Jan 1990
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialA controlled study on the outcome of inpatient and outpatient treatment of low back pain. Part III. Long-term follow-up of pain, disability, and compliance.
The long-term outcome results of inpatient and outpatient treatment of low back pain (LBP) were studied in 476 subjects (aged 35-54, 63% men) randomly assigned to three study groups: inpatients (n = 157), outpatients (n = 159), and controls (n = 160). The study included changes in the severity of low back pain, grade and disability, compliance with self-care, data on disability pensions, and days of sickness allowance during a 2.5-year follow-up period. These variables were used as outcome criteria. ⋯ During the whole 2.5-year follow-up compliance with self-care was better in the two treated groups, especially in the inpatients. Days of sickness allowance had increased somewhat more in the controls than in the inpatients during the follow-up. No differences between the groups were found in the number of disability pensions granted.
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Scand J Rehabil Med · Jan 1990
Chronic low-back pain: intercorrelation of repeated measures for pain and disability.
Subjective experience of pain and disability was assessed for 4-5 weeks on a weekly basis in 14 consecutive out-patients complaining of low-back pain and/or leg pain that had lasted for at least 6 months. The following measures were used for assessment: a visual analogue scale (VAS) (present pain and worst pain during preceding 2 weeks), a short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), the Pain Disability Index (PDI) and the pain drawing. ⋯ The Spearman correlation showed statistically significant intercorrelation for present pain assessed with the VAS score, for the sensory word score of the SF-MPQ and for the PDI. Especially the PDI, which represents a global score for disability, showed very little test-retest variability and a high intercorrelation with the other methods of assessment, i.e. the pain drawing, the VAS scale for pain and the SF-MPQ.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Scand J Rehabil Med · Jan 1990
Phrenic nerve stimulation in tetraplegia. A new regimen to condition the diaphragm for full-time respiration.
Unipolar phrenic nerve stimulation (diaphragm pacing) has been used for ventilation of patients with C2 tetraplegia. Four-pole sequential nerve stimulation delays muscle fatigue when compared with unipolar stimulation. This may help to achieve more frequently long-term full-time bilateral electroventilation. ⋯ The new conditioning regimen was tested successfully in two patients with C2 tetraplegia. The new stimulation method and conditioning regimen remarkably shorten the time after injury during which mechanical ventilation is needed. This will give the patients earlier access to rehabilitation centres for spinal cord injuries and will diminish the work load of the personnel.