71 research outputs found
Between-day reliability of electromechanical delay of selected neck muscles during performance of maximal isometric efforts
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to assess the between-day reliability of the electromechanical delay (EMD) of selected neck muscles during the performance of maximal isometric contractions in five different directions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty-one physically active males participated in two testing sessions separated by seven to eight days. Using a custom-made fixed frame dynamometer, cervical force and surface electromyography (EMG) were recorded bilaterally from the splenius capitis, upper trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles during the performance of efforts in extension, flexion, left and right lateral bending, and protraction. The EMD was extracted using the Teager-Kaiser Energy Operator. Reliability indices calculated for each muscle in each testing direction were: the difference in scores between the two testing sessions and corresponding 95% confidence intervals, the standard error of measurement (SEM) and intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>EMD values showed no evidence of systematic difference between the two testing sessions across all muscles and testing directions. The SEM for extension, flexion and lateral bending efforts ranged between 2.5 ms to 4.8 ms, indicating a good level of measurement precision. For protraction, SEM values were higher and considered to be imprecise for research and clinical purposes. ICC values for all muscles across all testing directions ranged from 0.23 to 0.79.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>EMD of selected neck muscles can be measured with sufficient precision for the assessment of neck muscle function in an athletic population in the majority of directions tested.</p
The return-to-work process of individuals sick-listed because of whiplash-associated disorder: a three-year follow-up study in a Danish cohort of long-term sickness absentees
The establishment of a primary spine care practitioner and its benefits to health care reform in the United States
It is widely recognized that the dramatic increase in health care costs in the United States has not led to a corresponding improvement in the health care experience of patients or the clinical outcomes of medical care. In no area of medicine is this more true than in the area of spine related disorders (SRDs). Costs of medical care for SRDs have skyrocketed in recent years. Despite this, there is no evidence of improvement in the quality of this care. In fact, disability related to SRDs is on the rise. We argue that one of the key solutions to this is for the health care system to have a group of practitioners who are trained to function as primary care practitioners for the spine. We explain the reasons we think a primary spine care practitioner would be beneficial to patients, the health care system and society, some of the obstacles that will need to be overcome in establishing a primary spine care specialty and the ways in which these obstacles can be overcome.https://doi.org/10.1186/2045-709X-19-1
Treatment of lumbar degenerative disc disease-associated radicular pain with culture-expanded autologous mesenchymal stem cells: a pilot study on safety and efficacy
Transplantation of human Wharton’s jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells highly expressing TGFβ receptors in a rabbit model of disc degeneration
Towards occupant protections for both men and women
The susceptibility of female occupants to Whiplash Associated Disorders (WADs) has been the focus over the past decades. To improve occupant protections, it is required to understand how gender differences affect the WAD injury mechanisms. The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential impact of the whole spinal alignment on the cervical vertebral kinematics and ligament elongation during a rear impact by analysing rear impact reconstruction simulations. The simulations demonstrated a potential impact of gender differences in whole spinal alignment on cervical vertebral kinematics and ligament elongations. It seems that the average female spinal alignment may expose women to larger deformation of the cervical soft tissues considered related to WAD, due to greater cervical vertebral kinematics, compared to the average male spinal alignment. The findings highlight the importance of the whole spinal alignment when developing female models to evaluate WAD countermeasures, and may thus improve occupant protection for women as well as men
Biomechanical tolerance of whole lumbar spines in straightened posture subjected to axial acceleration
Sex-based differences in pain distribution in a cohort of patients with persistent post-traumatic neck pain
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