Lumbar paraspinal muscle function, perception of lumbar position, and postural control in disc herniation-related back pain.

Study Design: A follow-up study evaluating postural control, lumbar movement perception, and paraspinal muscle reflexes in disc herniation-related chronic low back pain (LBP) before and after discectomy.

Objectives: To assess the effect of discectomy on postural control, lumbar perception, and reflex activation of paraspinal muscles during sudden upper limb loading.

Summary Of Background Data: Impaired muscle function, postural control, and lumbar proprioception have been observed in LBP.

Impaired lumbar movement perception in association with postural stability and motor- and somatosensory-evoked potentials in lumbar spinal stenosis.

Study Design: A descriptive study of the associations between different neurophysiologic findings in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis.

Objectives: To evaluate the ability to sense a change in lumbar position and the associations between lumbar movement perception, postural stability, and motor-evoked potentials and somatosensory-evoked potentials.

Summary Of Background Data: Patients with low back pain have impaired postural control and impaired lumbar proprioception.

The effect of a very low-calorie diet-induced weight loss on the severity of obstructive sleep apnoea and autonomic nervous function in obese patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a very low-calorie diet (VLCD)-induced weight loss on the severity of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), blood pressure and cardiac autonomic regulation in obese patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS). A total of 15 overweight patients (14 men and one woman, body weight 114 +/- 20 kg, age 52 +/- 9 years, range 39-67 years) with OSAS were studied prospectively. They were advised to follow a 2.

Cardiac sympathovagal balance during sleep apnea episodes.

The main acute cardiovascular effects of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) are elevation of blood pressure and reflectory bradycardia, which are followed by an abrupt tachycardia on resumption of breathing. This haemodynamic instability is related to hypoxemia and arousal, and may lead to increased risk from cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death, as well as to the development of chronic arterial hypertension, in these patients. The aim of this study was to apply frequency domain analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) measured from continuous electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings to evaluate how cardiac autonomic function, and especially cardiac sympathovagal tone, changes during sleep apnea episodes.