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J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil 2021 Apr 30. Epub 2021 Apr 30.

Department of Rehabilitation, Harajyuku Rehabilitation Hospital, Shibuya, Tokyo, 150-0001, Japan.

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a common complaint and preventive measures should be considered immediately. In addition, asymmetrical trunk motion, which occurs due to repetitive motion upon performing daily activities, may be one of the biomechanical factors to cause LBP.

Objective: To investigate the characteristics of asymmetrical trunk motion in women with a history of LBP. Read More

Neurosurg Focus 2021 May;50(5):E9

1Department of Neurosurgery, MD Anderson Cancer Center; and.

Objective: Survival of cancer patients continues to improve with systemic treatment advancements, leading to an increase in cancer-related complications such as pathological spinal fractures. In this study, the authors aimed to evaluate the outcome of percutaneous stabilization with cement augmentation of the pedicle screws in the management of patients with metastatic cancer to the spine.

Methods: The authors reviewed a retrospective case series of 74 patients with symptomatic pathological spine fractures treated with cement-augmented pedicle screws implanted with a percutaneous technique. Read More

Physiother Theory Pract 2021 Apr 29:1-6. Epub 2021 Apr 29.

Department of Health Science and Technology at Aalborg University, Aalborg East, Denmark.

: Low back pain is prevalent among elite athletes with initial high levels of physical activity. Currently, there is a lack of evidence describing the optimal management strategy of high-level track and field athletes presenting with low back pain. : This case report describes the clinical management and return-to-sport strategies of a male high-level track and field athlete presenting with low back pain in an outpatient physiotherapy clinic. Read More

Spine Deform 2021 Apr 29. Epub 2021 Apr 29.

Institut de la Colonne Vertébrale, Spine Unit 1, Bordeaux University Hospital, Bordeaux, France.

Purpose: A normal sagittal vertical axis (SVA) after spinal deformity correction can yield mechanical complications of up to 30%. Post-operative compensatory pelvic orientation can produce a normal SVA. We assess relative pelvic version (RPV), an individualised measure, for persistent post-operative compensatory measures. Read More

J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil 2021 Apr 23. Epub 2021 Apr 23.

Faculty of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Hacettepe University, Samanpazari, Altindag, Ankara 06230, Turkey.

Background: Performing thoracic manipulations for neck pain can result in immediate improvements in neck function.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the immediate effects of thoracic manipulation on cervical joint position sense and cervical range of motion in individuals with chronic mechanical neck pain.

Methods: Eighty male volunteers between 18-25 years and having chronic or recurrent neck or shoulder pain of at least 3 months duration with or without arm pain were randomized into two groups: Thoracic Manipulation Group (TMG:50) and Control Group (CG:30), with a pretest-posttest experimental design. Read More

Orthop J Sports Med 2021 Apr 9;9(4):2325967121995466. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Medicine of Sensory and Motor Organs, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, Kiyotake, Miyazaki, Japan.

Background: Spondylolysis and undiagnosed mechanical low back pain (UMLBP) are the main causes of low back pain (LBP) in adolescent athletes. No studies have evaluated the difference in clinical and radiographic factors between these 2 conditions. Furthermore, it remains unclear which adolescent athletes with LBP should undergo advanced imaging examination for spondylolysis. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Apr 22;11(1):8755. Epub 2021 Apr 22.

Department of Computational Mechanics Physics CEMEF, MINES ParisTech, PSL Research University, Centre de Mise en Forme Des Matériaux (CEMEF), French National Centre for Scientific Research, Sophia Antipolis, France.

With modern-day technical advances, high sagittal oblique osteotomy (HSOO) of the mandible was recently described as an alternative to bilateral sagittal split osteotomy for the correction of mandibular skeletal deformities. However, neither in vitro nor numerical biomechanical assessments have evaluated the performance of fixation methods in HSOO. The aim of this study was to compare the biomechanical characteristics and stress distribution in bone and osteosynthesis fixations when using different designs and placing configurations, in order to determine a favourable plating method. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Apr 21;11(1):8652. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Department of Macroscopic and Clinical Anatomy, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.

Sacroiliac joint dysfunction (SIJD) is an underappreciated source of back pain. Mineralization patterns of the sacroiliac (SIJ) subchondral bone plate (SCB) may reflect long-term adaptations to the loading of the joint. Mineralization densitograms of 27 SIJD patients and 39 controls, were obtained using CT osteoabsorptiometry. Read More

Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon) 2021 Apr 18;85:105350. Epub 2021 Apr 18.

Division of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. Electronic address:

Background: The sacroiliac joint fixation is the last resort for patients with prolonged and severe joint pain. Although the clinical results of anterior fixations are conclusive, there exist several inevitable drawbacks with the surgical method such as the difficulty performing the surgery due to the presence of many organs. The posterior fixation technique has thus been developed to overcome those inconveniences. Read More

Work 2021 ;68(4):981-992

Department of Environmental and Public Health Science, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.

Background: As millions of workers have shifted to telework, special accommodations for workers with respect to ergonomics may be required to ensure the workforce remains healthy.

Methods: A survey about home office ergonomics and discomfort was sent to faculty, staff, and administrators by email and was completed by 843 individuals.

Results: Over 40%of the participants reported moderate to severe discomfort (severe low/middle back pain, moderate discomfort in eyes/neck/head, and discomfort in the upper back/shoulders). Read More

Br J Sports Med 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Unit of Clinical Epidemiology, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, Milano, Lombardia, Italy.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of interventions for acute and subacute non-specific low back pain (NS-LBP) based on pain and disability outcomes.

Design: A systematic review of the literature with network meta-analysis.

Data Sources: Medline, Embase and CENTRAL databases were searched from inception until 17 October 2020. Read More

Hum Mov Sci 2021 Apr 10;77:102797. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Arkansas for Medical Science, Little Rock, AR, USA; Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Department, Boise State University, Boise, ID, USA.

Preferred and fast speed sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit (STS) tests are prevalent in literature, but biomechanical changes between the different speeds of STS have never been studied. Understanding differences between these STS techniques will better inform experimental design for research assessing functional ability in clinical populations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different speeds of STS transfers on lower body and trunk kinematics and kinetics in healthy adults. Read More

Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon) 2021 Apr 5;84:105351. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain. Electronic address:

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a major health issue in most industrialised countries. Lumbodorsal fascia has been advocated as a potential source of pain in the lumbopelvic region. Myofascial release constitutes a manual therapeutic approach focussing on the restoration of altered soft tissue function. Read More

J Biomech 2021 Mar 20;121:110392. Epub 2021 Mar 20.

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, United States; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, United States; Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, United States. Electronic address:

High body mass index (BMI) and obesity have been implicated as risk factors for lumbar degenerative disc disease and low back pain. Despite this, there is limited in vivo data to quantify how obesity influences the mechanical function of intervertebral discs (IVD) in response to activities of daily living. Recently, our lab has developed methodologies to non-invasively measure in vivo IVD deformation resulting from activities of daily living using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and solid modeling techniques. Read More

Cureus 2021 Mar 1;13(3):e13628. Epub 2021 Mar 1.

Research, Dalhousie University, Halifax, CAN.

Background Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common reasons for presentation to the emergency department (ED). LBP is most commonly non-specific or mechanical in nature yet can be debilitating. Diagnostic imaging (DI) is commonly ordered contrary to guideline recommendations for patients with LBP. Read More

Oxid Med Cell Longev 2021 16;2021:6699326. Epub 2021 Mar 16.

Bone Biomechanics Engineering Laboratory of Shandong Province, Neck-Shoulder and Lumbocrural Pain Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Shandong Medicinal Biotechnology Center, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan 250062, China.

Background: Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is one of the major causes of low back pain and motor deficiency. Nucleus pulposus (NP) degeneration plays a key role in the process of IVDD. The mechanical and biological interactions involved in NP degeneration have not been elucidated. Read More

Front Neurosci 2021 17;15:642436. Epub 2021 Mar 17.

Department of Orthopedics, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangdong, China.

To study the effect of intradiscal injection of simvastatin on discogenic pain in rats and its possible mechanism, 30 adult female rats were used in this experiment. Twenty rats were randomly divided into sham operation group (Control group), intervertebral disk degeneration group (DDD group), intervertebral disk degeneration + hydrogel group (DDD + GEL group), and intervertebral disk degeneration + simvastatin group (DDD + SIM group). The mechanical pain threshold and cold sensation in rats were measured. Read More

Comput Biol Med 2021 Mar 22;133:104351. Epub 2021 Mar 22.

Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Research Lab, Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, 845 Sherbrooke St. W, Montréal, Quebec, H3A 0G4, Canada. Electronic address:

Introduction: The pathomechanism of low back pain (LBP) remains unknown. Unilateral LBP patients have demonstrated ipsilateral morphological and material property changes within the lumbar soft tissues, potentially leading to asymmetric tissue loading. Through the comparison of healthy and unilateral LBP validated finite element models (FEMs), this study investigates potential stress shielding consequential of spinal tissue property augmentation. Read More

Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 2021 Apr 3. Epub 2021 Apr 3.

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Karatsu Red Cross Hospital, 2430 Watada, Karatsu, Saga, 847-8588, Japan.

Introduction: The success rate of decompression surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) has been reported to vary from 60 to 80%. The purpose of this study was to analyze the predictors for clinical outcomes after tubular surgery for endoscopic decompression (microendoscopic decompression) for LSS.

Materials And Methods: A total of 100 patients with degenerative LSS (M/F: 61/39, Age: mean 69. Read More

Biomech Model Mechanobiol 2021 Mar 31. Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, 312 Church St. SE, 7-105 Nils Hasselmo Hall, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.

The human lumbar facet capsule, with the facet capsular ligament (FCL) that forms its primary constituent, is a common source of lower back pain. Prior studies on the FCL were limited to in-plane tissue behavior, but due to the presence of two distinct yet mechanically different regions, a novel out-of-plane study was conducted to further characterize the roles of the collagen and elastin regions. An experimental technique, called stretch-and-bend, was developed to study the tension-compression asymmetry of the FCL due to varying collagen fiber density throughout the thickness of the tissue. Read More

Zhongguo Gu Shang 2021 Mar;34(3):282-7

Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Trditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200437, China.

Objective: To observe the analgesic effect of manipulation loading on chronic low back pain (CLBP) model rats and the expression of inflammatory factors in psoas major muscle tissue, and to explore the improvement of manipulation on local inflammatory microenvironment.

Methods: Thirty two SPF male SD rats weighing 340-360g were randomly divided into blank group, sham operation group, chronic low back pain model group and treatment group, with 8 rats in each group. In the model group, L-L lumbar vertebrae were implanted with external link fixation system (ELFS). Read More

J Orthop Sci 2021 Mar 27. Epub 2021 Mar 27.

Department of Statistical Epidemiology, School of Health Sciences, Gunma University, 3-39-22 Shouwa-machi, Maebashi-shi, Gunma 371-8514, Japan. Electronic address:

Background: Lumbar traction is a treatment method traditionally used for chronic low back pain (CLBP) in many countries. However, its clinical effectiveness has not been proven in medical practice. The purpose is to conduct a multi-center, crossover, randomized controlled trial (RCT) to prove the efficacy and safety of traction on CLBP patients, using equipment capable of precise traction force control and of reproducibility of the condition based on the previous biomechanical and pre-clinical studies. Read More

Orthop Surg 2021 Mar 29. Epub 2021 Mar 29.

Department of Spine Surgery, Shunde Hospital, Southern Medical University, The First People's Hospital of Shunde, Foshan, China.

The objective was to introduce a new endoscopic technique-interspinous plasty for low back pain from Baastrup's disease; based on clinical manifestations, imaging findings and diagnostic test, to discuss a detailed diagnostic procedure for Baastrup's disease; and to explore the mechanism of interspinous plasty in pain relief. To our knowledge, there is no report about the results of endoscopic lumbar technique for Baastrup's disease. This study described the successful full-endoscopic surgical treatment for Baastrup's disease, providing a brand-new therapeutic method for patients. Read More

Rheum Dis Clin North Am 2021 May 27;47(2):197-213. Epub 2021 Feb 27.

Spondylitis Program, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, 399 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 2S8, Canada; Schroeder Arthritis Institute, University Health Network; Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Inflammatory back pain is characteristic of spondyloarthritis (SpA); however, this pain may not respond to treatment with NSAIDs or biologics. Pain is multifactorial and a combination of mechanical and inflammatory factors. A growing body of literature examines the impact of emotions on pain in SpA; many patients with this condition suffer from depression and fibromyalgia. Read More

Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2021 10;9:643154. Epub 2021 Mar 10.

Department of Oncology and Metabolism, Mellanby Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.

Pedicle screw fixation is extensively performed to treat spine injuries or diseases and it is common for thoracolumbar fractures. Post-operative complications may arise from this surgery leading to back pain or revisions. Finite element (FE) models could be used to predict the outcomes of surgeries but should be verified when both simplified and realistic designs of screws are used. Read More

Clin Spine Surg 2021 Mar 23. Epub 2021 Mar 23.

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.

Study Design: This was a literature review.

Objective: The objective of this study was to review the pathogenesis, prevalence, clinical associations, diagnostic modalities, and treatment options for patients with lower back pain (LBP) associated with Modic change (MC).

Summary Of Background Data: Vertebral body endplates are located between the intervertebral disk and adjacent vertebral body. Read More

J Mech Behav Biomed Mater 2021 Jun 16;118:104458. Epub 2021 Mar 16.

College of Engineering, Mathematics & Physical Sciences, Physics Building, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QL, UK.

Needle injection has been widely used in spinal therapeutic or diagnostic processes, such as discography. The use of needles has been suspected in causing mild disc degeneration which can lead to long-term back pain. However, the localised microscopic damage caused by needles has not been well studied. Read More

PLoS One 2021 23;16(3):e0248104. Epub 2021 Mar 23.

Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Back pain and intervertebral disc degeneration are prevalent, costly, and widely treated by manual therapies, yet the underlying causes of these diseases are indeterminate as are the scientific bases for such treatments. The present studies characterize the effects of repetitive in vivo manual loads on porcine intervertebral disc cell metabolism using RNA deep sequencing. A single session of repetitive manual loading applied to the lumbar spine induced both up- and down-regulation of a variety of genes transcribed by cells in the ventral annuli fibrosi. Read More

J Clin Orthop Trauma 2021 Feb 20;13:163-168. Epub 2020 Nov 20.

Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Chandigarh, India.

Objective: Oswestry disability Index(ODI) is the commonest patient reported outcome for assessment of disability due to low back pain. Its application to non-English speaking Punjabi population is limited as a validated and cross culturally adapted Punjabi version of ODI is not available. The purpose of the study was to analyse the psychometric properties of Punjabi version of Oswestry disability index (ODI-P) in patients with mechanical low back pain. Read More

Orthop J Sports Med 2021 Feb 23;9(2):2325967120985616. Epub 2021 Feb 23.

School of Health and Sport Sciences, Chukyo University, Toyota, Japan.

Background: Pole vaulters and decathletes frequently experience several types of injuries to their lower back, often resulting in mechanical low back pain (LBP). However, the risk factors for the occurrence of LBP in these athletes have not been defined.

Purpose: To determine the physical factors that relate to LBP occurrence for collegiate pole vaulters and decathletes. Read More