Diagnostics

Neck motion, motor control, pain and disability: A longitudinal study of associations in neck pain patients in physiotherapy treatment

Manual Therapy April 2016 Volume 22, Pages 94–100 Ingebrigt Meisingset Highlights •A comprehensive set of test for neck motion and motor control was investigated. •Changes in neck motion and motor control occurred primarily within 2 weeks. •Few variables were associated with changes in pain and disability. •Range of motion in the sagittal plane was associated […]

Does provocative discography cause clinically important injury to the lumbar intervertebral disc? A 10-year matched cohort study

The Spine Journal Volume 16, Issue 3, March 2016, Pages 273-280 Jason M. Cuellar, MD, PhD Abstract Background context Provocative discography, an invasive diagnostic procedure involving disc puncture with pressurization, is a test for presumptive discogenic pain in the lumbar spine. The clinical validity of this test is unproven. Data from multiple animal studies confirm […]

Colonoscopy Complications Occur at Surprisingly High Rate

02.16.2016 Approaching 2% within a week of ‘scoping by Cheryl Clark When Harlan Krumholz, MD, saw a friend rushed to the hospital “with shaking and chills” one day after his colonoscopy a few years ago, he wondered how often this procedure results in such scary, adverse events. “For about 12 hours he was very, very […]

Can’t Touch Your Toes? Find and Fix the Root of the Problem

Perry Nickelston Stand with your feet together. Keep your knees locked. Slowly bend forward and touch your toes. Can you reach them? If not, that means your hamstrings are too tight and they need stretching. Wait. Not so fast. Just because the hamstrings are tight doesn’t mean they need stretching. Always look deeper before stretching […]

Progression of lumbar disc herniations over an eight-year period -a longitudinal MRI study using quantitative measures

BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2016 Jan 15;17(1):26. doi: 10.1186/s12891-016-0865-6. Progression of lumbar disc herniations over an eight-year period in a group of adult Danes from the general population – a longitudinal MRI study using quantitative measures. Kjaer P, Tunset A, Boyle E, Jensen TS. Abstract BACKGROUND: A lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is a localised displacement of […]

MRI Findings of Disc Degeneration are More Prevalent in Adults with Low Back Pain than in Asymptomatic Controls

AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2015 Dec;36(12):2394-9. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A4498. Epub 2015 Sep 10. MRI Findings of Disc Degeneration are More Prevalent in Adults with Low Back Pain than in Asymptomatic Controls: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Brinjikji W, Diehn FE, Jarvik JG, Carr CM, Kallmes DF, Murad MH4 Luetmer PH. Abstract BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Imaging features of […]

Effect of Lumbar Disc Degeneration and Low-Back Pain on the Lumbar Lordosis in Supine and Standing: A Cross-Sectional MRI Study

Spine: November 2015 – Volume 40 – Issue 21 – p 1690–1696 Hansen, Bjarke B. MD Abstract Study Design. Cross-sectional study. Objective. To examine the influence of low-back pain (LBP) and lumbar disc degeneration (LDD) on the lumbar lordosis in weight-bearing positional magnetic resonance imaging (pMRI). Summary of Background Data. The lumbar lordosis increases with […]

Smooth Pursuit Eye Movement Deficits in Patients With Whiplash and Neck Pain are Modulated by Target Predictability

Spine: 01 October 2015 – Volume 40 – Issue 19 – p E1052–E1057 Janssen, Malou MSc Study Design. This is a cross-sectional study. Objective. The purpose of this study is to support and extend previous observations on oculomotor disturbances in patients with neck pain and whiplash-associated disorders (WADs) by systematically investigating the effect of static […]

The AO classification system more reliable than Lauge-Hansen system for ankle injury diagnosis

AO classification system provides more reliable ankle injury diagnosis vs Lauge-Hansen system  Yin M, et al. Orthopedics. 2015;doi:10.3928/01477447-20150701-62. August 13, 2015 The AO classification system was determined to be easier to comprehend for the diagnosis of ankle injuries vs. the Lauge-Hansen classification system, with the AO system demonstrating better reliability and reproducibility, according to study […]

MRI of the lumbar spine with dedicated G-scan machine in the upright position

Radiol Med. 2015 Jul 28. [Epub ahead of print] Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the lumbar spine with dedicated G-scan machine in the upright position: a retrospective study and our experience in 10 years with 4305 patients. Splendiani A Abstract PURPOSE: To evaluate the pathological changes of the lumbar spine and the instability of the […]

Diagnostic Imaging in Seniors With New Back Pain Is Unnecessary, Costly

Clinical Pain Medicine ISSUE: JULY 2015 | VOLUME: 13(7) Early diagnostic imaging for new-onset back pain in older adults is costly and not associated with better outcomes, according to a new study. While early imaging (prior to six weeks after an index visit) in younger adults is discouraged by evidence-based guidelines, the timing of imaging […]

Clinical Comparative Study for Ultrasound-Guided Trigger-Point Needling for Myofascial Pain

Bubnov Rostyslav V. and Wang Jun. Medical Acupuncture. December 2013, 25(6): 437-443. ABSTRACT Background: Most pain syndromes in clinical practice are myofascial in nature and are caused by the myofascial trigger point (MTrP) formation. Recent clinical studies show that MTrP dry needling is most effective to release myofascial pain after local twitch response (LTR) is […]

Dr Harshfield DMX Innovators Webinar – Video

This is the presentation of Dr. David Harshfield, M.D. at the DMX Innovators conference held on May 22, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tSqT0gvHOw&feature=youtu.be YouTube Link (1:16:33)

The evaluation of lumbar multifidus muscle function via palpation: reliability and validity of a new clinical test

Jeffrey J. Hebert, DC, PhD The Spine Journal Volume 15, Issue 6, 1 June 2015, Pages 1196–1202 Abstract Background context The lumbar multifidus muscle provides an important contribution to lumbar spine stability, and the restoration of lumbar multifidus function is a frequent goal of rehabilitation. Currently, there are no reliable and valid physical examination procedures […]

Grip Strength Could Be Useful Indicator of CVD, Mortality Risk

Decrease in strength linked to higher risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, and premature death THURSDAY, May 14, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Testing hand-grip strength could be an inexpensive and simple way of identifying people at increased risk for myocardial infarction, stroke, and premature death, according to a study published online May 13 in The Lancet. Researchers […]

Prevalence of disc degeneration, protrusion, bulge and fissure in asymptomatic 20-80 year olds

AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2015 Apr;36(4):811-6. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A4173. Epub 2014 Nov 27. Systematic literature review of imaging features of spinal degeneration in asymptomatic populations. Brinjikji W1, Luetmer PH2, Comstock B3, Bresnahan BW4, Chen LE4, Deyo RA5, Halabi S6, Turner JA7, Avins AL8, James K4, Wald JT1,Kallmes DF1, Jarvik JG9. Author information Abstract BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Degenerative changes are commonly found in spine imaging but often occur in […]

MRI-Detected Bone Marrow Changes Linked to Low Back Pain

5/2/15 Action Points   Note that this relatively small study found that specific changes in lumbar bone marrow were associated with low back pain. Be aware that, after adjustment, changes in these marrow findings were not associated with changes in pain, but were associated with changes in disability. Vertebral subchondral bone marrow changes visible on […]

Desire for Certainty, Litigation Fears Drive ER Overimaging

Diana Swift April 07, 2015 Most emergency department physicians order diagnostic imaging tests they know are unnecessary, according to the results of a national survey published online March 23 in Academic Emergency Medicine. A key driver behind these excess scans is the fear of malpractice lawsuits based on missed diagnoses, the researchers found. “The most striking finding of our study […]

Ultrasound Imaging Predicts Progression of Hand OA

04.06.2015 Ultrasound exams were able to detect which patients with hand osteoarthritis (OA) were likely to have disease progression, according to Norwegian researchers. A strong and dose-responsive association was seen between the presence of ultrasound-detected inflammatory features and radiographic progression approximately 5 years later in hand OA patients, reported Alexander Mathiessen, MD, of Diakonhjemmet Hospital […]

Diffusion tensor imaging with quantitative evaluation and fiber tractography of lumbar nerve roots in sciatica

Eur J Radiol. 2015 Apr; 84(4):690-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2015.01.006. Epub 2015 Jan 17. Yin Shi PMID: 25631881 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2015.01.006 Abstract Objective: To quantitatively evaluate nerve roots by measuring fractional anisotropy (FA) values in healthy volunteers and sciatica patients, visualize nerve roots by tractography, and compare the diagnostic efficacy between conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and DTI. […]