Association Between Quadriceps Muscle Strength and the Forgotten Joint Score After Total Hip Arthroplasty.

Background: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) effectively enhances hip function and alleviates pain in patients who have osteoarthritis, improving their quality of life. The Forgotten Joint Score-12 (FJS-12), a patient-reported outcome measure, has recently gained attention as a method for assessing joint awareness during daily activities following THA; however, the association between muscle strength, specifically quadriceps muscle strength, and the FJS-12 has not been fully investigated.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 624 patients who underwent THA at a single center in Japan.

Characteristics of upper lumbar spondylolysis in children.

Background: Pediatric lumbar spondylolysis (LS) is common in junior and senior high school athletes. Lower LS (L4-L5 level) is more common in children, and upper LS (L1-L3 level) is relatively rare; therefore, the pathogenesis of upper LS remains unclear.

Purpose: To elucidate the mechanisms of upper LS by identifying and comparing characteristics between upper and lower LS cases.

Risk Factors for Nonunion After Nonoperative Treatment for Pediatric Lumbar Spondylolysis: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.

Background: Pediatric lumbar spondylolysis, a stress fracture of the lumbar spine, frequently affects young athletes, and nonoperative treatment is often the first choice of management. Because the union rate in lumbar spondylolysis is lower than that in general fatigue fractures, identifying risk factors for nonunion is essential for optimizing treatment.

Purpose: To determine the risk factors for nonunion after nonoperative treatment of acute pediatric lumbar spondylolysis through multivariate analysis.

IOC consensus statement on elite youth athletes competing at the Olympic Games: essentials to a healthy, safe and sustainable paradigm.

With the pronounced ongoing growth of global youth sports, opportunities for and participation of youth athletes on the world sports stage, including the Olympic Games, are expected to escalate. Yet, adolescence is a vulnerable period of development and inherently dynamic, with non-linear and asynchronous progression of physical, physiological, psychological and social attributes. These non-concurrent changes within and between individuals are accompanied by irregular and unpredictable threats and impediments.

A Pediatric Epidural Catheter Fracture Suspected to Be Caused by a Glue.

A 65-day-old baby boy underwent the Kasai procedure under general and epidural anesthesia. The epidural catheter was inserted between the T11 and T12 vertebrae under general anesthesia, and secured with sterile tape, ethyl-2-cyanoacrylate glue, and film. Intra- and postoperative epidural analgesia was effective and there was no leakage around the insertion site.

Cross-cultural adaption, validity, and reliability of the Japanese version of the Central Aspects of Pain in the Knee (CAP-Knee-J) questionnaire in patients with knee pain: a validation study.

Background: Knee pain is a prominent concern among older individuals, influenced by the central nervous system. This study aimed to translate the Central Aspects of Pain in the Knee (CAP-Knee) questionnaire into Japanese and investigate its reliability and validity in older Japanese individuals with knee pain.

Methods: Using a forward-backward method, CAP-Knee was translated into Japanese, and data from 110 patients at an orthopedic clinic were analyzed.

Contralateral knee pain exacerbation after total knee arthroplasty and its impact on functional activity.

Introduction: The purposes of the present study were to (1) describe the prevalence of contralateral knee pain exacerbation after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), (2) explore the risk factors for pain exacerbation, and (3) verify the association of contralateral knee pain with future functional activity.

Materials And Method: We consecutively recruited outpatients with osteoarthritis of both knees who had primary TKA planned. The contralateral knee pain using a Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and the functional activities subdomain of the new Knee Society Knee Scoring System (KSS) were assessed preoperatively and at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively.

Rate and Duration of Bone Union for Conservative Treatment in Pediatric Lumbar Spondylolysis.

Study Design: Retrospective case series.

Objective: To report the detailed bone fusion rates and duration of treatment in unilateral and bilateral cases of pediatric lumbar spondylolysis (LS).

Summary Of Background Data: Early diagnosis and optimal conservative management for LS are crucial for achieving bony healing without surgery.

Preoperative Low Back Pain Affects Postoperative Patient Satisfaction Following Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion Surgery.

Study Design: A single-center retrospective study.

Purpose: To research the predictive factors associated with postoperative patient satisfaction 1 year after minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF), a minimally invasive procedure for lumbar degenerative disease.

Overview Of Literature: There have been reports of numerous variables influencing patient satisfaction with lumbar surgery; however, there have been few investigations on MIS are limited.

Postoperative Tunnel Widening, Elliptical Aperture Shape, and No Preservation of the Remnant Are Related to the Tendon Graft-Bone Tunnel Gap Formation at the Intra-Articular Aperture After Double-Bundle Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Purpose: To examine the bone-tendon healing at the posterolateral (PL) femoral tunnel aperture by second-look arthroscopy after double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), and assess the risk factors for impaired healing at the tendon-bone interface.

Methods: A consecutive series of knees undergoing primary double-bundle ACLR using hamstring tendon autografts were enrolled in the study. The exclusion criteria were as follows: previous knee surgeries, concomitant ligamentous and osseous procedures, and a lack of second-look arthroscopy or postoperative computed tomography data for the analysis.

Association between knee function and kinesiophobia 6 months after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

[Purpose] Kinesiophobia after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction has been identified as an inhibitor of return to sports. This study aimed to clarify the relationship between kinesiophobia and knee function 6 months after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction when the patient intends to return to sports. [Participants and Methods] A total of 66 patients who underwent primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (mean age 17.

Influence of the Preoperative Duration of Symptoms on Patients' Clinical Outcomes after Minimally Invasive Surgery-Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion for Degenerative Lumbar Spinal Diseases.

Background and Objectives: The impact of the duration of symptoms (DOS) on postoperative clinical outcomes of patients with degenerative lumbar spinal diseases is important for determining the optimal timing of surgical intervention; however, the timing remains controversial. This prospective case−control study aimed to investigate the influence of the preoperative DOS on surgical outcomes in minimally invasive surgery-transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF). Materials and Methods: Patients who underwent single-level TLIF for lumbar degenerative diseases between 2017 and 2018 were reviewed.

The severity of preoperative varus deformity affects the feasibility of correcting lower limb alignment with medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty.

Background: The relationship between the severity of preoperative varus deformity and the amount of its correction in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) as well as the thickness of the insert has not been well known.

Methods: One hundred and three patients who underwent medial fixed-bearing UKA with the use of the spacer block method were assessed. After the component gap in extension was measured using a UKA tensor, the pre-osteotomy gap was calculated from the thickness of the bone cuts.

Frequency of working at home, body mass index, and productivity in Japanese office workers: A cohort study.

Background: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people working at home has grown significantly.

Objective: This cohort study aimed to investigate whether the frequency of working at home was associated with changes in body mass index (BMI) and productivity from 2018 to 2020.

Method: Frequency of working at home was self-reported.

Successful Conservative Treatment of an Acute Arterial Occlusion After Total Knee Arthroplasty: Report of 2 Cases and Review of the Literature.

BACKGROUND Acute arterial occlusion after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a rare but occasionally limb-threatening complication. Successful outcomes of surgical treatment for acute arterial occlusion after TKA have been frequently reported in the literature; however, few reports have described conservative treatment. This case report describes the successful conservative treatment of popliteal artery occlusion after TKA.

Protective Effects of Growth Differentiation Factor-6 on the Intervertebral Disc: An In Vitro and In Vivo Study.

Growth differentiation factors (GDFs) regulate homeostasis by amplifying extracellular matrix anabolism and inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokine production in the intervertebral disc (IVD). The aim of this study was to elucidate the effects of GDF-6 on human IVD nucleus pulposus (NP) cells using a three-dimensional culturing system in vitro and on rat tail IVD tissues using a puncture model in vivo. In vitro, Western blotting showed decreased GDF-6 expression with age and degeneration severity in surgically collected human IVD tissues (n = 12).

Preoperative varus deformity of the knee affects the intraoperative joint gap in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty.

Background: It is generally believed that contraction of the soft tissue structures on the medial side may occur in the knee with severe varus deformity. However, the relationship between the severity of varus deformity of the knee and the intraoperative soft tissue balance in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) has not been well reported thus far.

Methods: One hundred and three consecutive medial UKAs were enrolled.

Epidural space "ballooning" during local anaesthetic injection in infants and children: An ultrasound observational study.

Background: Infants and children require a larger dose of a local anaesthetic (LA) to establish epidural analgesia than adults, but the reason for this remains unclear. We hypothesised that prominent ventro-dorsal expansion of the epidural space limits cranio-caudal spread of LA in infants. Accordingly, we studied the dimensions of the epidural space with real-time ultrasound (US) before and after epidural injection.

Knee Flexion Angle Following Total Knee Arthroplasty Relates to a Preoperative Range of Motion of the Hip.

Background: Many factors have been reported to affect postoperative range of knee flexion after total knee arthroplasty (TKA); however, no study has reported the impact of preoperative range of motion of the hip to the postoperative flexion angle of the knee thus far.

Methods: Of 38 consecutive patients who underwent posterior-stabilized TKA, we assessed 21 patients after excluding 17 patients who met exclusion criteria. The range of motion of the knee and the hip, age, body-mass index, serum albumin level, HbA1c, Kellgren-Lawrence grade, knee extension strength and radiological femorotibial angle as well as postoperative knee flexion angle at three months were evaluated.