Evaluation of the changes in the muscle sympathetic nerve activity and anterior tibial muscle blood flow caused by the Valsalva maneuver in patients with lumbago and healthy subjects.

Clinical symptoms affecting the lower extremities are common among lumber spinal disorder patients. Pain, numbness and sensory disturbance are major signs of these symptoms, and have been suggested to be related to sympathetic nerve disturbance. This study was designed to examine whether these patients experience a difference in sympathetic nerve flow in terms of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSA) compared to healthy subjects.

Effects of anterior lumbar spinal fusion on the distribution of nerve endings and mechanoreceptors in the rabbit facet joint: quantitative histological analysis.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the density and distribution of neural endings in rabbit lumbar facet joints after anterior spinal fusion and to evaluate the effects of intervertebral immobilization. An extraperitoneal approach was applied, and L5/6 was fixed with a plate and screws. Bilateral L4/5, L5/6, and L6/7 facet joint capsules were harvested from the rabbits 4, 8, and 16 weeks postoperatively.

Motor nerve conduction analysis of double crush syndrome in a rabbit model.

The double crush syndrome was proposed by Upton and McComas in 1973, but there are still many unclear points regarding its mechanism. We propose a model that enables electrophysiological study of the same nerve from the same individual over time. We employed 29 rabbits and used their sciatic nerves.

Research on the effectiveness of intermittent cervical traction therapy, using short-latency somatosensory evoked potentials.

Short-latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) were measured before and after intermittent cervical traction therapy to serve as objective indicators of therapy effectiveness. The subjects were 29 patients with myelopathy, 23 with cervical radiculopathy, 28 with cervical sprain, and 26 healthy individuals. SSEPs were recorded by stimulating the median nerve, and the negative potentials elicited from the brachial plexus (N9), neck (N11, lcN13, ucN13), and somatosensory area (N18) were measured to determine interpeak latencies and then corrected latency.

[The appearance manner of C-response in healthy individuals].

The existence of long-latency responses following M and H waves in the complex muscular action potential elicited by stimulation of peripheral nerves was reported by Upton et al. This electrical potential, called the C-response, is applied to examinations in central nervous system diseases. However, the pathway and details on fundamental types of waveforms have not yet been clarified.

The aging process in the sacroiliac joint: helical computed tomography analysis.

The purpose of this study was to compare the frequency of degenerative changes in the sacroiliac joint by age, sex, laterality, body mass index, and childbearing experience, based on computed tomography (CT) images obtained from the lower back of symptom-free subjects in different age groups. These data were used to trace the development of the sacroiliac joint until the occurrence of osteoarthritis with aging. CT transverse and coronal images were examined for the presence of the following degenerative signs: joint space narrowing, sclerosis, osteophytes, cysts, and erosion.