Articles: low-back-pain.
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A 22-month prospective cohort study. ⋯ Once established, chronic low back pain is persistent. Most patients with chronic low back pain seek little care, and a majority are employed. Future research should emphasize maintenance of employment and function.
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jan 2000
Radiographic analysis of lumbar spine for low-back pain in the general population.
We sought to demonstrate a correlation between low-back pain (LBP) and the plain radiographic findings of the lumbar spine in the general population based on an analysis of 838 persons, 387 of whom presented with complaints of low-back pain. The incidence of intervertebral narrowing and irregular ossification of the vertebral end-plate image increased consistently with age and was higher in the presence of LBP in any age or gender group. Multiregression analysis was performed with the imaging factors as multivariates. ⋯ The discrimination analysis was performed using the linear discriminant function, resulting in a true discrimination rate of 65%. Plain radiography of the lumbar spine is thus significant as it provides information which can be evaluated as meaningful findings in the investigation of LBP. In addition, while the significance can be increased by considering multiple factors, it is important to understand the limits of the accuracy of this prediction.
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The authors report their experience with 42 patients in whom anterior lumbar fusion was performed using titanium cages as a versatile adjunct to treat a wide variety of spinal deformity and pathological conditions. These conditions included congenital, degenerative, iatrogenic, infectious, traumatic, and malignant disorders of the thoracolumbar spine. Fusion rates and complications are compared with data previously reported in the literature. ⋯ The complication rate mirrors the low morbidity rate associated with the anterior approach. A detailed study of clinical outcomes is in progress. Patient selection and strategies for avoiding complication are discussed.
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Subjective well-being is an essential ingredient in the quality of life concept. The Marburg questionnaire, a seven item scale for the assessment of the trait dimension of well-being, claims to possess good psychometric properties. This is investigated in two studies with chronic pain patients. ⋯ The good psychometric quality of the questionnaire along with its brevity allows its application as part of a quality of life assessment.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Effect of the duration of electrical stimulation on the analgesic response in patients with low back pain.
Electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves produces acute analgesic effects. This randomized, sham-controlled, crossover study was designed to evaluate the effect of differing durations of electrical stimulation on the analgesic response to percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in 75 consenting patients with low back pain. ⋯ The recommended duration of electrical stimulation with percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation therapy is 30 min.