Cross-cultural adaptation, reliability, and validity of the German version of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale.

Objective: In patients with chronic pain, catastrophizing is a significant determinant of self-rated pain intensity and disability. The Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) was developed to assist with both treatment planning and outcome assessment; to date, no German version has been validated.

Methods: A cross-cultural adaptation of the PCS into German was carried out, strictly according to recommended methods.

The Neck Pain and Disability Scale: cross-cultural adaptation into German and evaluation of its psychometric properties in chronic neck pain and C1-2 fusion patients.

Study Design: Cross-cultural adaptation of an outcome questionnaire.

Objective: The aim of the study was to cross-culturally adapt the Neck Pain and Disability Scale (NPAD) for the German language, and to assess its psychometric qualities.

Summary Of Background Data: Neck pain and its associated disability represent an extremely common musculoskeletal problem.

Tissue Doppler imaging for detecting onset of muscle activity.

Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) is typically used to image and quantify tissue motion. We investigated whether this method would serve as a viable alternative to surface electromyography (EMG) in providing a reliable and valid measure of the onset of muscle activity. Ten healthy subjects performed maximal knee extension exercises at 0 degrees /s (isometric), 60 degrees /s, 120 degrees /s, 180 degrees /s, and 240 degrees /s (5 times each, on each side), using an isokinetic dynamometer.

Lessons learned during the cross-cultural adaptation of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons shoulder form into German.

Cross-cultural adaptation and testing of reliability and validity were performed by use of a sample of 118 patients after shoulder arthroplasty. They completed a questionnaire booklet containing the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) questionnaire, Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI), Short Form 36, and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire, and 1 week later, they completed the ASES questionnaire again. The cross-cultural adaptation procedure revealed no major problems.

Muscle thickness changes during abdominal hollowing: an assessment of between-day measurement error in controls and patients with chronic low back pain.

Spine stabilization exercises, in which patients are taught to perform isolated contractions of the transverses abdominus (TrA) during "abdominal hollowing", are a popular physiotherapeutic treatment for low back pain (LBP). Successful performance is typically judged by the relative increase in TrA thickness compared with that of the internal (OI) and external (OE) oblique muscles, measured using ultrasound. The day-to-day measurement error (imprecision) associated with these indices of preferential activation has not been assessed but is important to know since it influences the interpretation of changes after treatment.

A new method for the noninvasive determination of abdominal muscle feedforward activity based on tissue velocity information from tissue Doppler imaging.

Rapid arm movements elicit anticipatory activation of the deep-lying abdominal muscles; this appears modified in back pain, but the invasive technique used for its assessment [fine-wire electromyography (EMG)] has precluded its widespread investigation. We examined whether tissue-velocity changes recorded with ultrasound (M-mode) tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) provided a viable noninvasive alternative. Fourteen healthy subjects rapidly flexed, extended, and abducted the shoulder; recordings were made of medial deltoid (MD) surface EMG and of fine-wire EMG and TDI tissue-velocity changes of the contralateral transversus abdominis, obliquus internus, and obliquus externus.

Pain measurement in patients with low back pain.

Pain is a multidimensional experience that is a prominent feature of many musculoskeletal disorders. Despite its subjective nature, pain is a highly relevant complaint; hence, nothing should deter physicians from attempting to formally assess it. This Review summarizes the main aspects of pain measurement from a practical standpoint, with a specific focus on low back pain.

A randomised controlled trial of post-operative rehabilitation after surgical decompression of the lumbar spine.

Spinal decompression is the most common type of spinal surgery carried out in the older patient, and is being performed with increasing frequency. Physiotherapy (rehabilitation) is often prescribed after surgery, although its benefits compared with no formal rehabilitation have yet to be demonstrated in randomised control trials. The aim of this randomised controlled trial was to examine the effects on outcome up to 2 years after spinal decompression surgery of two types of postoperative physiotherapy compared with no postoperative therapy (self-management).

Cross-cultural adaptation, reliability and validity of the Patient Rated Elbow Evaluation (PREE) for German-speaking patients.

Objective: Patient-orientated questionnaires are important instruments for the assessment of outcome in the clinical environment and in musculoskeletal research. The objective of this study was to cross-culturally adapt the Patient Rated Elbow Evaluation (PREE) into German (PREE-G) and to test its reliability, validity and psychometric properties.

Methods: The PREE was cross-culturally adapted for the German language, according to established guidelines.

Reliability and minimal detectable change for the figure-of-eight-20 method of, measurement of ankle edema.

Study Design: Single-session, repeated-measures design, with 3 raters.

Objectives: To determine the intrarater and interrater reliability and the minimal detectable change score for a modified version of the figure-of-eight method of measurement of ankle edema (figure-of-eight-20) developed for patients with severe injuries.

Background: The precise quantification of ankle edema is necessary to determine the relative effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing swelling, and to monitor individual progress during treatment.

The association between cervical spine curvature and neck pain.

Degenerative changes of the cervical spine are commonly accompanied by a reduction or loss of the segmental or global lordosis, and are often considered to be a cause of neck pain. Nonetheless, such changes may also remain clinically silent. The aim of this study was to examine the correlation between the presence of neck pain and alterations of the normal cervical lordosis in people aged over 45 years.

Predictors of multidimensional outcome after spinal surgery.

The variables identified as predictors of surgical outcome often differ depending on the specific outcome variable chosen to designate "success". A short set of multidimensional core outcome measures was recently developed, in which each of the following domains was addressed with a single question and then combined in an index: pain, function, symptom-specific well-being, general well-being (quality of life), disability (work and social). The present study examined the factors that predicted surgical outcome as measured using the multidimensional core measures.

Are "structural abnormalities" on magnetic resonance imaging a contraindication to the successful conservative treatment of chronic nonspecific low back pain?

Study Design: Prospective study.

Objective: To examine the association between structural abnormalities recorded on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and outcome after evidence-based conservative treatment in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain (LBP).

Summary Of Background Data: In most guidelines for the management of LBP, MRI is not recommended unless the diagnostic triage suggests serious spinal pathology or nerve root involvement for which surgical treatment is foreseen.

Cross-cultural adaptation, reliability and validity of the German Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI).

Objective: To cross-culturally adapt the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) from English into German, and to test the reliability and validity of the German version.

Methods: Cross-cultural adaptation of the SPADI was performed according to international guidelines. One hundred and eighteen patients who had undergone shoulder arthroplasty, on average 4 yr previously, completed a questionnaire booklet containing the German SPADI, the Short Form 36 (SF-36), the Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire, and the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) questionnaire for the shoulder to assess SPADI's construct validity.

Predictors of surgical outcome and their assessment.

The relatively high rate of failed back surgery has prompted the search for "risk factors" to predict the result of spinal surgery in a given individual. However, the literature reveals few unequivocal predictors and they often explain a relatively low proportion of variance in outcome. This suggests that we have a long way to go before being able to rest easily, having refused someone surgery on the basis of unfavourable baseline characteristics.

SSE Spine Tango--content, workflow, set-up. www.eurospine.org-Spine Tango.

The Spine Tango registry is now accessible via the SSE webpage under www.eurospine.org-Spine Tango.

Transarticular screw fixation for osteoarthritis of the atlanto axial segment.

Atlantoaxial (C1-C2) facet joint osteoarthitis is a distinct clinical syndrome that often goes unrecognized. Severe pain resistant to conservative treatment that is corroborated by the radiographic findings represents the indication for surgery. The aim of this study was to retrospectively examine the long-term outcome [after an average 6.

What is the value of physical therapies for back pain?

Some would say that the value of physical therapies for low back pain patients is the provision of pain relief; others argue that it is all about helping the person to get on with his or her life. There is an on-going debate amongst practitioners as to whether a hands-on or a hands-off approach is likely to be most effective for these patients. This chapter reviews these positions through an exploration of the literature.

Outcome assessment in low back pain: how low can you go?

The present study examined the psychometric characteristics of a "core-set" of six individual questions (on pain, function, symptom-specific well-being, work disability, social disability and satisfaction) for use in low back pain (LBP) outcome assessment. A questionnaire booklet was administered to 277 German-speaking LBP patients with a range of common diagnoses, before and 6 months after surgical (N=187) or conservative (N=90) treatment. The core-set items were embedded in the booklet alongside validated 'reference' questionnaires: Likert scales for back/leg pain; Roland and Morris disability scale; WHO Quality of Life scale; Psychological General Well-Being Index.

Development of a German version of the Oswestry Disability Index. Part 1: cross-cultural adaptation, reliability, and validity.

Patient-orientated assessment methods are of paramount importance in the evaluation of treatment outcome. The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) is one of the condition-specific questionnaires recommended for use with back pain patients. To date, no German version has been published in the peer-reviewed literature.

Development of a German version of the Oswestry Disability Index. Part 2: sensitivity to change after spinal surgery.

When functional scales are to be used as treatment outcome measures, it is essential to know how responsive they are to clinical change. This information is essential not only for clinical decision-making, but also for the determination of sample size in clinical trials. The present study examined the responsiveness of a German version of the Oswestry Disability Index version 2.

A prospective study of the interrelationship between subjective and objective measures of disability before and 2 months after lumbar decompression surgery for disc herniation.

The value of range of motion (ROM) as an indicator of impairment associated with spinal problems, and in monitoring changes in response to treatment, is a controversial issue. The aim of this study was to examine the interrelationship between subjective disability (Roland-Morris scores) and objectively measured impairment (ROM), both before and in response to spinal decompression surgery, in an older group of patients with herniated lumbar disc (DH). Seventy-six individuals took part in the study: 33 patients (mean age 57 years, SD 9 years) presenting with DH and for whom decompression surgery was planned, and 43 controls (mean age 57 years, SD 7 years), with no history of back pain requiring medical treatment.

Comprehensive assessment of clinical outcome and quality of life after total elbow arthroplasty.

Objective: To assess quantitatively the outcome and to explore the physiometric and psychometric properties of clinical, generic, and condition-specific instruments after total elbow arthroplasty.

Methods: Seventy-nine patients were assessed in a 6-19-year cross-sectional catamnesis by means of 6 widely used questionnaires, clinical examinations, and radiographic examinations.

Results: With regard to pain, general physical health, and all the mental health dimensions of the Short Form 36 (SF-36), the patients showed scores comparable to normative values.