A randomized clinical trial of treatment for lumbar segmental rigidity.

Study Design: A randomized single-blind clinical trial of facet injections plus exercise, versus exercise alone, in chronic disabling work-related lumbar spinal disorders (CDWRLSD), accompanied by pilot interrater reliability and facet syndrome prevalence studies.

Objectives: To systematically investigate the use of facet injections as an adjunct to supervised lumbar stretching exercises in regaining lumbar range of motion (ROM) following prolonged deconditioning after work-related lumbar injuries. To assess interrater reliability of visual assessment of segmental rigidity (SR), and to evaluate the prevalence of facet syndrome in cases of lumbar SR.

Relevance of aerobic capacity measurements in the treatment of chronic work-related spinal disorders.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study of rehab program completers, comparing aerobic capacity data of chronic lumbar spinal disorder patients (CLSD) to that of chronic cervical spinal disorder (CCSD), collected from a tertiary care facility.

Objective: We evaluated whether CLSD is associated with different pre- and postrehabilitation aerobic capacity deficits than CCSD, and whether such deficits affect functional restoration outcomes.

Summary Of Background Data: Chronic spinal disorder patients are thought to lose aerobic fitness as a component of the deconditioning syndrome.

Quantifying the lumbar flexion-relaxation phenomenon: theory, normative data, and clinical applications.

Study Design: A two-part investigation was conducted: 1) a prospective study of asymptomatic subjects quantitatively comparing trunk mobility to surface electromyographic (sEMG) signals from the erector spinae during trunk flexion; and 2) a prospective repeated-measures cohort study of patients with chronic disabled work-related spinal disorder tested for the flexion-relaxation (FR) phenomenon while measured simultaneously for lumbar spine inclinometric range of motion (ROM).

Objectives: To describe a theoretical model for the potential use of FR unloaded in assessing patients with chronic low back pain patients before and after rehabilitation, and to establish a normative database (Part 1) for subsequent use in comparison to patients with chronic low back pain (Part 2). The second part of the study assessed the clinical utility of combined sEMG and ROM measurements for assessing the FR phenomenon as a test to assist potentially in planning rehabilitation programs, guiding patients' individual rehabilitation progress, and identifying early posttreatment outcome failures.

A prospective short-term study of chronic low back pain patients utilizing novel objective functional measurement.

The present study utilized recently developed diagnostic tests that permit recognition of functional deficits in spine mobility, trunk strength, endurance, coordination, and dynamic lifting capacity. Changes in these tests were compared to changes in psychological functioning (e.g.