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Regular Opioid Pain Killer use Linked To Erectile Dysfunction in Men

May 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment

In a newly published research published in May issue of Spine, it has been reported that persons who regularly take opoid painkillers are associated with higher risk of erectile dysfunction.

The study  was a cross-sectional analysis of electronic medical and pharmacy records.

Electronic records of 11327 males with back pain  were studied  to find out if the men taking prescription painkillers were more likely to also receive prescriptions for testosterone replacement or ED medications.

Opioid use was categorized as

  • “none” for men who did not receive a prescription for opioids
  • “acute” for men who took opioids for three months or less
  • “episodic” for men who took opioids for more than three months, but less than four months and with fewer than 10 refills
  •  “long-term” for men who took opioids (a) for at least four months or (b) for more than three months with 10 or more refills.

Anything more than 120 mg of morphine equivalent was categorized as high-dose use. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Back Pain, News, Pain Management Tagged With: , , , ,

Chronic Low Back Pain Linked To Bacterial Infection

May 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Forty percent of the chronic lower back pain could be caused by bacteria and a significant percentage of people with lower back pain following a herniated disc. This has been suggested by investigators from University of Southern Denmark.

The researchers further suggest that antibiotics may be considered as a treatment option for patients with chronic low back pain in selected patients.

Their findings, published in two papers, published in the April issue of the European Spine Journal.

The study included 61 adults (mean age, 46.4 years; 27% female) who had MRI-confirmed lumbar disc herniation and were undergoing surgery.

Pages: 1 2

Filed Under: Back Pain, News Tagged With: , , ,

FDA Clears Zygafix Facet Fusion System For Spine

May 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment

X-spine, an Ohio based firm manufacturing spinal treatment devices has received new USFDA clearance for the Zygafix™ Facet Fusion System.

Zygafix™ system allows for fusion and stabilization of the facet joint (zygapophyseal joint) and the procedure can be done through a minimally-invasive approach

Zygafix™ is a true fixation system incorporating a titanium compression screw. The implant is packed with bone graft and creates a fusion mass across the facet joint and imparts long-term stability.

The implant and instrumentation suite allows for either open or minimally-invasive exposure.\

Source

  1. Businesswire

 

Filed Under: News, Spine Tagged With: , , ,

Spinal Posture Predicts Future Disability and Dependence

April 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Spinal Posture and Disability
A new study has reported that the shape of an individual’s spinal column may predict his or her risk for nursing home admission or need of home assistance in old age. The new study has been le published online in the Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences.

With a background knowledge that spinal posture is for aged populations in maintaining independence in everyday life, the authors of the study, Kamitani et al tried to clarify the association by measuring spinal posture noninvasively in a community-based prospective cohort study of of posture and future dependence in activities of daily living older adult. These activities include such basic self-care tasks as bathing, feeding, toileting, maintaining continence, dressing, and transferring in or out of a bed or chair.

For the study, spinal posture was evaluated in 804 participants (338 men, 466 women) between age 65–94 years. All the evaluated persons were independent in activities of daily living at baseline.

Pages: 1 2

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Clinical Photographs of An Adult With Severe Kyphosis

February 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Following photographs are of a person with severe kyphosis.

The person is 43 years old male who had come to OPD with a patient.

Here is a view of his spine from back side.

Clinical Photograph of Person With Kyphosis

Clinical Photograph of Person With Kyphosis

From side [Read more...]

Filed Under: Kyphosis, Spine Tagged With: ,

Sciatica Bothersomeness Index

January 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Sciatica bothersomeness index, as the name suggests, is an index based on patients reporting of symptoms which reflects the trouble patient is going through with his/her sciatica symptoms.

The index includes self-reported ratings of symptom intensity of

  1. Leg pain
  2. Numbness or tingling in the leg, foot or groin
  3. Weakness in the leg/foot
  4. Back or leg pain while sitting

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Scores-Indexes, Spine Tagged With: , ,

Surgical and Nonsurgical Treatment For Lumbar Disc Herniation Have Poorer Outcomes In Obese

January 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment

According to new research published in the January 2013 Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, obese patients are more likely to have poorer outcomes after receiving surgical and nonsurgical lumbar disc treatment.

The study included 854 nonobese patients with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of less than 30 kg/m², and 336 obese patients with a BMI greater than 30 kg/m², enrolled in the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT) for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation.

Patient demographic and clinical characteristics at beginning were compiled and patients were followed up regularly for four years. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Back Pain, Spine Tagged With: , , ,

Experimental New Drug Effective at Improving Limb Movements After Spinal Cord Injury

January 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment

The experimental drug, called LM11A-31, developed by  Frank Longo, professor of neurology and neurological sciences at Stanford University has been shown to be effective at improving limb movements in mice after spinal cord injury.

The drug efficiently crossed the blood-brain barrier, did not increase pain and showed no toxic effects to the animals.

Th drug block proNGF-p75 interaction and p75-mediated cell death. [proNGF is a precursor of nerve growth factor or NGF and p75 is receptor for nerve growth factor.]

It is the oral drug  to produce functional improvement with no toxicity in a rodent model.

The study by Tep and colleagues has been published in The Journal of Neuroscience, online on January 9, 2013. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Spine, Spine Injuries Tagged With: , ,

Oswestry Disability Index

December 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Oswestry Disability Index has  emerged as the most commonly recommended condition speci?c outcome measures for spinal disorders.

The development of the Oswestry Disability Index was initiated by John O’Brien in 1976

The index is based on patient-completed questionnaire which gives a subjective percentage score of level of function (disability) in activities of daily living in those rehabilitating from low back pain.

Here is the questionnaire that patient receives [Read more...]

Filed Under: Back Pain, Scores-Indexes Tagged With: , , , ,

Back Pain Improves Substantially When You Quit Smoking, Study Reports

December 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

A recent study published in Bone and Joint Surgery [American] has reported that patients with spinal disorders who quit smoking may experience substantial improvements in back pain.

The study by Behrend and colleagues has been published in December issue of the journal.

The authors studies examined a prospectively maintained database of records for 5333 patients with backpain or radicular pain from a spinal disorder with regard to smoking history. Patient assessment of pain on four visual analog scales during the course of care was also analyzed.

Confounding factors, including secondary gain, sex, age, and body mass index, were also examined.

The mean duration of follow-up was eight months. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Back Pain, News, Spine Tagged With: , ,

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