Development and Feasibility Study of a Triage Tool for Early Referral to Spinal Cord Stimulation for Patients With Chronic Low Back and Leg Pain.

Background: In recent years, delayed elective care and growing waiting lists increasingly resulted in postponed surgeries for patients with chronic back and leg pain.

Objective: To develop, implement, and evaluate the feasibility of a triage tool for patients with chronic back and/or leg pain to identify those eligible for referral to spinal cord stimulation (SCS) consultation.

Methods: A triage tool was developed, based on Dutch SCS guidelines, literature review and expert panel consultation.

International comparative study of low back pain care pathways and analysis of key interventions.

Purpose: Low back pain (LBP) is a major public health problem worldwide. Significant practice variation exists despite guidelines, including strong interventionist focus by some practitioners. Translation of guidelines into pathways as integrated treatment plans is a next step to improve implementation.

Pain at the knee: the Morel-Lavallée lesion, a case series.

Post-traumatic pain at the knee is a common clinical presentation with a wide and varied differential diagnosis. The Morel-Lavallée lesion (MLL) is a rare cause of pain at the knee, caused by post-traumatic shearing of the hypodermis from the underlying fascia. The space created can fill with blood, lymph and necrotic fat giving specific findings on ultrasound and magnetic resonance (MR) evaluation.

ACTN3 (R577X) genotype is associated with fiber type distribution.

alpha-Actinin-3 is a Z-disc structural protein found only in type II muscle fibers. The X allele of the R577X polymorphism in the ACTN3 gene results in a premature stop codon and alpha-actinin-3 deficiency in XX homozygotes. Associations between the R577X polymorphism and the muscle-power performance of elite athletes have been described earlier.