Biomechanical analysis of breastfeeding positions and their effects on lumbopelvic curvatures and lumbar muscle responses.

This study aimed to analyze the position of the lumbopelvic region and lumbar muscle activity in the most common breastfeeding positions. We recorded the curvatures of the lumbar spine and pelvis by means of an electrogoniometer, and the muscle activation levels of the erector spinae with electromyography, in 34 women in erect standing and breastfeeding their children in several positions. Both side lying and clutch-hold positions showed a greater degree of lumbar spine flexion compared to standing.

Where do archers hurt? Epidemiology of injuries during archery practice.

Background: The risk of injury in archery is supposedly low. However, relations between pain, shooting phases and types of bow have not been studied.

Objective: Understanding the biomechanical mechanisms of archery-related injuries.

Validation of the patients-specific functional scale in patients with haemophilia.

Introduction: A complete functional assessment is essential to measure health status and treatment effects in patients with haemophilia. The Patient-Specific Functional Scale (PSFS) is a reliable, valid, simple and quick scale that measures physical function in patients with musculoskeletal disorders. However, the reliability and validity of the PSFS have not been evaluated in patients with haemophilia.

Determining the optimal maximal and submaximal voluntary contraction tests for normalizing the erector spinae muscles.

Background: This study aimed to identify which maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) and sub-MVIC tests produce the highest activation of the erector spinae muscles and the greatest reduction in inter-individual variability, to put them forward as reference normalization maneuvers for future studies.

Methods: Erector spinae EMG activity was recorded in 38 healthy women during five submaximal and three maximal exercises.

Results: None of the three MVIC tests generated the maximal activation level in all the participants.

Effects of myofascial release in erector spinae myoelectric activity and lumbar spine kinematics in non-specific chronic low back pain: Randomized controlled trial.

Background: Flexion-relaxation response of the lumbar erector spinae has been previously studied after different interventions such as exercise programs or spinal manipulation, in subjects with chronic low back pain. The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of an isolated myofascial release protocol on erector spinae myoelectric activity and lumbar spine kinematics in chronic low back pain.

Methods: Thirty-six participants, with nonspecific chronic low back pain, were randomized to myofascial release group (n = 18) receiving four sessions of myofascial treatment, each lasting 40 min, and to control group (n = 18) receiving a sham myofascial release.

Effects of pregnancy on lumbar motion patterns and muscle responses.

Background Context: The kinematics of the lumbar region and the activation patterns of the erector spinae muscle have been associated with the genesis of low back pain, which is one of the most common complications associated with pregnancy. Despite the high prevalence of pregnancy-related low back pain, the biomechanical adaptations of the lumbar region during pregnancy remain unknown.

Purpose: This study analyzes lumbar spine motion and the activation pattern of the lumbar erector spinae muscle in healthy pregnant women.

Effects of unstable shoes on trunk muscle activity in patients with chronic low back pain.

Introduction: Unstable shoes were developed as a walking device to strengthen the lower extremity muscles and reduce joint loading. Many studies have reported increased muscle activity throughout the gait cycle in most of the lower limb muscles in healthy adults using these shoes. However, no previous studies have explored the effects of wearing unstable shoes on trunk muscle activity in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP).

Changes in trunk posture and muscle responses in standing during pregnancy and postpartum.

The aim of this study was to analyze the position of the lumbopelvic region and the muscle activation of erector spinae and biceps femoris muscles in a group of pregnant women in the third trimester. The hypothesis was that pregnancy-related biomechanical and morphological changes modify the position of the lumbopelvic region and the activation of extensor muscles. The position of the lumbar spine and pelvis in the sagittal plane, and the EMG activity of the erector spinae and biceps femoris muscles, were recorded during standing in 34 nulliparous and 34 pregnant women in the third trimester, and also two months after birth in the group of pregnant women.

Effects and underlying mechanisms of unstable shoes on chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To investigate the effects that wearing unstable shoes has on disability, trunk muscle activity, and lumbar spine range of motion (ROM) in patients with chronic lower back pain (CLBP).

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Orthopedic Surgery Service.

Effects of Myofascial Release in Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Study Design: Double-blind, randomized parallel sham-controlled trial with concealed allocation and intention-to treat analysis.

Objective: To investigate the effects of an isolate myofascial release (MFR) protocol on pain, disability, and fear-avoidance beliefs in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP).

Summary Of Background Data: MFR is a form of manual medicine widely used by physiotherapists in the management of different musculoskeletal pathologies.

Lumbopelvic flexibility modulates neuromuscular responses during trunk flexion-extension.

Various stimuli such as the flexibility of lumbopelvic structures influence the neuromuscular responses of the trunk musculature, leading to different load sharing strategies and reflex muscle responses from the afferents of lumbopelvic mechanoreceptors. This link between flexibility and neuromuscular response has been poorly studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between lumbopelvic flexibility and neuromuscular responses of the erector spinae, hamstring and abdominal muscles during trunk flexion-extension.

Effects of unstable shoes on trunk muscle activity and lumbar spine kinematics.

Background: In patients with neuromuscular disease and a forced vital capacity (FVC) of <30% of the predictive value, scoliosis correction operation was Background. An unstable shoe was developed as a walking device to strengthen the lower extremity muscles and reduce joint loading. A large number of studies have reported increased electromyographic (EMG) activity throughout the gait cycle in most of the lower limb muscles, and significant kinematic changes in the lower extremity.

A comparison of lumbopelvic motion patterns and erector spinae behavior between asymptomatic subjects and patients with recurrent low back pain during pain-free periods.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the patterns of lumbopelvic motion and erector spinae (ES) activity during trunk flexion-extension movements and to compare these patterns between patients with recurrent low back pain (LBP) in their pain-free periods and matched asymptomatic subjects.

Methods: Thirty subjects participated (15 patients with disc herniation and recurrent LBP in their pain-free periods and 15 asymptomatic control subjects). A 3-dimensional videophotogrammetric system and surface electromyography (EMG) were used to record the angular displacements of the lumbar spine and hip in the sagittal plane and the EMG activity of the ES during standardized trunk flexion-extension cycles.

Effects of treadmill running and fatigue on impact acceleration in distance running.

The effects of treadmill running on impact acceleration were examined together with the interaction between running surface and runner's fatigue state. Twenty recreational runners (11 men and 9 women) ran overground and on a treadmill (at 4.0 m/s) before and after a fatigue protocol consisting of a 30-minute run at 85% of individual maximal aerobic speed.

Effect of custom-made and prefabricated insoles on plantar loading parameters during running with and without fatigue.

Controversy exists whether custom-made insoles are more effective in reducing plantar loading compared to prefabricated insoles. Forty recreational athletes ran using custom-made, prefabricated, and the original insoles of their running shoes, at rest and after a fatigue run. Contact time, stride rate, and plantar loading parameters were measured.

Absence of circumflex artery with superdominant right coronary: a classic anatomical dissection study.

Purpose: We report a very unusual case of variant coronary artery anatomy, discovered during anatomical dissection in a medical school.

Methods: The heart from a very advanced age donor was dissected using classic anatomical techniques

Results: The right coronary artery showed a superdominant pattern, extending beyond the crux of the heart and circling the atrioventricular groove almost completely. It followed the usual path of the absent circumflex artery, and ended as a slender branch which almost reached the origin of the anterior interventricular artery.

Effect of overground vs treadmill running on plantar pressure: influence of fatigue.

The differences produced when running on a treadmill vs overground may call into question the use and validity of the treadmill as a piece of equipment commonly used in research, training, and rehabilitation. The aim of the present study was to analyze under pre/post fatigue conditions the effect of treadmill vs overground on plantar pressures. Twenty-seven recreational runners (17 men and 10 women) ran on a treadmill and overground at two speeds: S1=3.

Psychometric properties and factor structure of the Spanish version of the HC-PAIRS questionnaire.

Objective: To develop a Spanish version of the Health Care Providers' Pain and Impairment Relationship Scale (HC-PAIRS) and to test its psychometric properties.

Methods: A forward and backward translation methodology was used to translate the questionnaire, which was then applied to 206 participants (174 physiotherapy students and 32 family physicians). The intraclass correlation coefficient was calculated to assess test-retest reliability.

White-to-white corneal diameter, pupil diameter, central corneal thickness and thinnest corneal thickness values of emmetropic subjects.

Purpose: This report assesses white-to-white corneal diameter, pupil diameter, central corneal thickness and thinnest corneal thickness values in a large sample of emmetropic subjects.

Methods: Three hundred and seventy-nine eyes of 379 young healthy emmetropic subjects were analyzed by means of scanning-slit corneal topography. The age of the subjects ranged from 18 to 53 years (mean ± SD = 29 ± 7).

Impact of biomedical and biopsychosocial training sessions on the attitudes, beliefs, and recommendations of health care providers about low back pain: a randomised clinical trial.

The beliefs and attitudes of health care providers may contribute to chronic low back pain (LBP) disability, influencing the recommendations that they provide to their patients. An excessively biomedical style of undergraduate training can increase negative beliefs and attitudes about LBP, whereas instruction following a biopsychosocial model could possibly lessen these negative beliefs in health care professionals. The objectives of this study were to determine the effectiveness of 2 brief educational modules with different orientations (biomedical or biopsychosocial) on changing the beliefs and attitudes of physical therapy students and the recommendations that they give to patients.

Reliability and validity of a new objective tool for low back pain functional assessment.

Study Design: Classification and functional assessment model for nonspecific low back pain (LBP) patients and controls on the basis of kinematic analysis parameters.

Objective: Develop a logistic regression model using kinematic analysis variables to (1) discriminate between LBP patients and controls and (2) obtain objective parameters for LBP functional assessment.

Summary Of Background Data: Functional assessment of spinal disorders has been carried out traditionally by means of subjective scales.

Is activation of the back muscles impaired by creep or muscle fatigue?

Study Design: Intervention study on healthy human subjects.

Objective: To determine whether reflex activation of the back muscles is influenced by muscle fatigue or soft tissue creep in the spine.

Summary Of Background Data: Reflex contraction of the back muscles normally acts to limit spinal flexion, and hence protect the underlying spine from injury.

Trunk muscle activation patterns and spine kinematics when using an oscillating blade: influence of different postures and blade orientations.

Objective: To compare trunk muscle activation patterns and trunk kinematics when using an oscillating blade in standing and unsupported sitting postures, and with different orientations of the blade.

Design: A cross-sectional survey of trunk muscle activities and lumbar motion.

Setting: Biomechanics research laboratory.

Electromyographic studies in abdominal exercises: a literature synthesis.

Objective: The purpose of this article is to synthesize the literature on studies that investigate electromyographic activity of abdominal muscles during abdominal exercises performance.

Methods: MEDLINE and Sportdiscus databases were searched, as well as the Web pages of electronic journals access, ScienceDirect, and Swetswise, from 1950 to 2008. The terms used to search the literature were abdominal muscle and the specific names for the abdominal muscles and their combination with electromyography, and/or strengthening, and/or exercise, and/or spine stability, and/or low back pain.

Age-related changes of NADPH-diaphorase-positive neurons in the rat inferior colliculus and auditory cortex.

Nitric oxide (NO) has been implied in age-related changes of the central nervous system (CNS) and the central auditory pathway. The present study was conducted to investigate whether the number of NO-producing cells and their morphometric characteristics in the inferior colliculus (IC) and the auditory cortex (AC) are changed with the increasing age of the subjects. IC and AC sections of adult and senile Wistar rats were studied using the histochemical detection of NADPH-diaphorase activity (NADPH-d), a marker for neurons containing nitric oxide synthase (NOS).