Publications by authors named "Jouko J Salminen"

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the functional status of patients with low back pain and the perceived importance of pain-related everyday functions assessed in the Oswestry Disability Index.

Design: The sample was based on 219 successive adult patients with low back pain referred to a tertiary clinic.

Patients: A total of 168 patients (76.

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Background: The use of computers has increased among adolescents, as have musculoskeletal symptoms. There is evidence that these symptoms can be reduced through an ergonomics approach and through education. The purpose of this study was to examine where adolescents had received ergonomic instructions related to computer use, and whether receiving these instructions was associated with a reduced prevalence of computer-associated health complaints.

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Workstations at school are among several factors that contribute to musculoskeletal symptoms among school-aged children. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ergonomically designed workstations on schoolchildren's musculoskeletal symptoms as compared to conventional workstations. In the first 14-month phase of the study (2002-2003, two schools), 42 from the intervention and 46 from the control school participated.

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Little is known about the epidemiology of widespread pain (WSP) in children and adolescents. This study aims to estimate the new-onset and prognosis of WSP in schoolchildren and investigate factors predicting its development. A prospective study was conducted among 1756 schoolchildren (age 10-12 years) in Southern Finland.

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Background: Cervical musculature may play an important role in the genesis of tension-type headache. However, there are no reports on a possible association between the morphometrical features of the neck flexion and extension muscles and adolescence headache.

Aim: To examine differences in neck flexion and extension muscles cross-sectional area (CSA) in adolescents with and without headache.

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This study investigated the natural course of neck pain (NP) in 9-12-year-olds during a 4-year follow-up. Risk factors for the occurrence and persistence of weekly NP were explored separately for boys and girls. At baseline, 1756 schoolchildren completed a questionnaire eliciting musculoskeletal pain symptoms, other physical, and psychological symptoms and frequency of physical activity, and were tested for joint hypermobility.

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Purpose: This study compared the maximal force, EMG/force ratio and co-activation characteristics of the neck-shoulder muscles between 30 adolescents with migraine-type headache, 29 with tension-type headache, and 30 headache-free controls.

Method: Force was measured with surface electromyography (EMG) from the cervical erector spinae (CES), the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) and trapezius muscles during the maximal isometric neck flexion, neck extension and shoulder flexion.

Results: Girls with migraine-type headache had higher EMG/force ratios between the EMG of the left agonist SCM muscle and the corresponding maximal neck flexion (p = 0.

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Background: Musculoskeletal pain symptoms are common in children and adolescents. These symptoms have a negative impact on children's physical and emotional well-being, but their underlying aetiology and risk factors are still poorly understood. Most of the previous cohort studies were conducted among mid and/or late adolescents and were mainly focused on a specific pain location (e.

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Background: Muscular disorders of the neck region may be of importance for the etiology of tension-type headache. However, in adolescents, there are no data on the association between neck muscle fatigue and headache.

Aim: To study differences in fatigue characteristics of the neck flexor muscles in adolescents with and without headache.

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Background: Reliable measurements are needed to study the dysfunction of the neck muscles. The aim of this study was to determine the intra-tester repeatability of EMG and isometric force measurements of the neck muscles in adolescents with headache and headache-free controls.

Methods: A group of 30 adolescents with migraine-type headache, 29 with tension-type headache, and 30 headache-free controls were recruited.

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Background: Neck-shoulder pain (NSP) and low back pain (LBP) increased among adolescents in the 1990s and the beginning of 2000. A potential risk factor for this increase is the use of information and communication technology. We studied how the use of computers, the Internet, and mobile phones, playing digital games and viewing television are related to NSP and LBP in adolescents.

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Background: The child's lower limb is the most commonly reported musculoskeletal location with pain and also the most commonly injured site in sports. Some potential risk factors have been studied, but the results are inconsistent. We hypothesized that distinction of traumatic from non-traumatic pain would provide a clearer picture of these factors.

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Objective: To determine the short-term and long-term prognosis of preadolescent lower limb pain and to assess factors that contribute to pain persistence at 1-year follow-up and pain recurrence at 4-year follow-up.

Methods: A 1- and 4-year follow-up was conducted of a population-based 10- and 12-year old cohort of schoolchildren with lower limb pain at baseline.

Results: Of the baseline students with lower limb pain, 32% reported pain persistence at 1-year follow-up and 31% reported pain recurrence at 4-year follow-up.

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Musculoskeletal pain is common in children but studies on the outcome and predictive factors for persistence/recurrence of these symptoms are scarce. A baseline cross-sectional survey of 1,756 schoolchildren (mean age 10.8) identified 564 (32.

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The main aim of this study was to explore the occurrence and changes of neck pain in pain-free preadolescents. The evaluation was performed at 1- and 4-year follow-ups. Of the pain-free preadolescents, 366 (71.

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Objectives: To study changes in pain of the back and neck in adolescents between 1985 and 2001 and pain of the neck, shoulder, and lower back between 1991 and 2001.

Design: Biennial nationwide postal surveys, 1985-2001, and annual classroom surveys, 1996-2001.

Setting: Finland.

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A 1-year follow-up of two preadolescent age cohorts with musculoskeletal pain at least once a week was conducted to analyze predictive factors for the persistence of musculoskeletal pain. Of the 564 children with pain at baseline, representing one third of the sample studied, 515 (91.3%) could be followed and 452 (80.

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