Articles: low-back-pain.
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Observational Study
Analysing gait patterns in degenerative lumbar spine disease using inertial wearable sensors - an observational study.
Using a chest-based inertial wearable sensor, we examined the quantitative gait patterns associated with lumbar disc herniation (LDH), lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), and chronic mechanical low back pain (CMLBP). 'Pathological gait signatures' were reported as statistically significant group difference (%) from the 'normative' gait values of an age-matched control population. ⋯ Wearable sensor-based accelerometry was found to be capable of detecting the gait abnormalities present in patients with LDH, LSS, and CMLBP, when compared to age-matched controls. Objective and quantitative patterns of gait deterioration uniquely varied between these subtypes of lumbar spine disease. With further testing and validation, gait signatures may aid clinical identification of gait-altering pathologies.
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This article summarizes the top 20 research studies of 2021 identified as POEMs (patient-oriented evidence that matters) that did not address the COVID-19 pandemic. Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists prevent adverse cardiovascular and renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and also reduce all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Most older adults (mean age, 75 years) with prediabetes do not progress to diabetes. ⋯ In patients with moderate to severe depression, initial titration above the minimum starting dose of antidepressants in the first eight weeks of treatment is not more likely to increase response. In adults with iron deficiency anemia, adding vitamin C to oral iron has no effect. In children with pharyngitis, rhinosinusitis, acute bronchitis, or acute otitis media, providing education combined with a take-and-hold antibiotic prescription results in 1 in 4 of those children eventually taking an antibiotic.
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The use of opioids in acute pain may be appropriate in some situations, but there are opportunities to reduce exposure to opioids with equally effective monotherapy and combination therapy over-thecounter (OTC) medications. There are a number of OTC analgesics that are readily accessible and costeffective options to treat pain. ⋯ Nonopioid OTC analgesics, such as NSAIDs and the NSAID/acetaminophen combination, are safe and effective firstline options for managing acute dental pain according to the American Dental Association. The American College of Physicians supports the use of NSAIDs as first-line therapy for the treatment of low back pain.