Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2005. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2005. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2009. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1995.

This study investigates the effects of cumulative mild head injury on the cognitive functioning of elite rugby players. A comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests was administered to top national (Springbok) rugby players (n=26), national Under 21 rugby players (n= 19), and a non-contact sport control group of national hockey players (n=21). The test results of the Total Rugby group (Springbok Rugby and Under 21 Rugby players), the Under 21 Rugby group, the hockey controls, and the Total Rugby and Under 21 Rugby forward and backline players respectively, were each compared with established normative data. Results showed significant differences in the direction of a poorer performance relative to the norms for the Total Rugby and Under 21 Rugby groups, and for the Total Rugby Forwards and Under 21 Rugby Forwards, on tests sensitive to the effects of diffuse brain damage. On the other hand, the Hockey Control group and the Total Rugby Backs and Under 21 Rugby Backs tended to perform within the normal range or better than the norm on some tests. These results confirm the hypothesis that rugby players, and the forward players in particular, are at risk of adverse cognitive effects consequent on cumulative mild head injury. The theoretical implications are that the aggregate effects of multiple exposures to mild head injuries in the rugby players served to reduce their brain reserve capacities and acted as a threshold-lowering influence associated with symptom onset.

Submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for a Master’s Degree in Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2018. / Background: Chiropractors are a unique group of health care professionals who are at risk for developing work-related musculoskeletal injuries. Diversity of daily practice imposes different physical demands on the chiropractor. The present study aims to determine the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal injuries in chiropractors in eThekwini municipality and selected risk factors associated with work-related musculoskeletal injuries. There are very few studies available that look at the chiropractor holistically in terms of work-related musculoskeletal injuries. However, these existing studies suggest that chiropractors are at a greater risk for the development of work-related musculoskeletal injuries. Method: The study design was a quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive study utilising a self- administered questionnaire, developed specifically for this research, using an expert group and pilot study. The questionnaire contained sections on personal as well as practice demographics, with questions pertaining to the single most severe work-related musculoskeletal injury, as well as the second and third most severe work-related musculoskeletal injury. Risk factors for work- related musculoskeletal injury were tested by using chi square in the case of categorical variables. In the event of violation of the expected frequencies, the Fisher’s exact test was used to obtain the p-value. Logistical regression was used to obtain odds rations in the presence of more than one explanatory variable. A p-value of <0.05 was used to indicate statistical significance. Results: Sixty-two chiropractors responded, giving a response rate of 64%. The life-time prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal injuries was 69%. A predominance of injuries to the upper extremity (50%) and lower back (28.3%) were recorded. The hand/wrist was the most common anatomical site of injury (31.5%) followed by the lower back. Number of years in practice was considered a risk factor for injury as most injuries occurred within the first five years of practice (41.6%). The likelihood of injury decreases with an increase in the number of years in practice. The majority of injuries affected the soft tissue, including ligament sprains (27.5%) and muscle strains (26.6%) and occurred while the practitioner was performing manipulation (38.2%) of the lumbosacral (80.77%) area with the patient in the side posture (61.53%). Conclusion: The results concur with other studies on work-related musculoskeletal injuries in chiropractors and add insight into risk factors predisposing this population to injury. Chiropractors need to understand the risk factors for occupational injury to implement strategies to avoid risk of injury. / M

This study investigates the cumulative effects of concussive and subconcussive mild head injury on the cognitive functioning of schoolboy rugby players. A comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests and a self-report postconcussive questionnaire were administered to top level schoolboy rugby players (n=47), and a non-contact sport control group of top level schoolboy hockey players (n=34). Group comparisons of the percentage of individuals with cognitive deficit were carried out between i) the schoolboy rugby and the schoolboy hockey players, ii) the rugby forward and the rugby backline players; iii) the rugby forward and the schoolboy hockey players and, iv) the rugby backline and the schoolboy hockey players. Results on the neuropsychological test battery did not provide any substantial evidence of a higher level of neuropsychological impairment in the rugby players relative to the control group, or in the rugby forward players relative to the rugby backline players. Results obtained on the postconcussive symptom questionnaire provided tentative indications that the rugby players do report a greater frequency of postconcussive symptomatology. The symptoms most frequently reported were being easily angered, memory problems, clumsy speech and sleep difficulties. It was hypothesized that the absence of cognitive impairment in the schoolboy rugby players compared with that noted for professional players was due to their younger age, relatively high IQ and education level and a less intensive level of physical participation in the sport, and hence less accumulated exposure to the game, thereby decreasing their exposure to mild head injuries. From a theoretical perspective, these pre-existing conditions were considered to act as protective factors against reductions in brain reserve capacity and concomitant susceptibility to the onset of neuropsychological dysfunction.

This study aims to explore, and to a certain extent to clarify, what it means psychologically to experience Traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) in a South African spinal unit. The target time chosen for analysis is the acute medical period. The study presents a review of the literature on psychological adjustment to TSCI and then proceeds to introduce and extensively articulate the hermeneutic approach and methodology. Subsequently, an interpretive research strategy is presented for the purpose of studying the acute phase of TSCI. The data for the study was obtained by means of three dialogical interviews which were tape recorded, transcribed and analyzed with~n a cyclical framework consisting of three interdependent levels. The interpretive procedure is modeled upon the 'reading guide' developed by Brown, Tappan, Gilligan, Miller and Argyris (1989). The analysis follows a course from the individual psychological descriptions of the experience to the generation of a general, nomothetic narrative account of the acute phase. The findings are then discussed in relation to the existing literature and evaluated on the basis of the goals of the study. The study highlights the value of some of the 'stage' ways of thinking about SCI adjustment, while simultaneously stressing the need for placing adjustment within a more personalized, and individually meaningful context. Significant differences between the psycho-physical experiences of patients in the categories of complete and -incomplete SCI were found, which suggests that a sharper distinction be made in the literature between these two groups, in order to account for the marked variations in their experiences.-- The study also contains a number of shortcomings, such as a lack of understanding about certain historical and contextual factors which may have mediated the experiences of the trauma for the individuals concerned. These shortcomings and some suggestions fro their resolution are then discussed. The study concludes with an evaluation of the research strategy and methodology and also offers some suggestions for future research.

Orientador: Gustavo Pereira Fraga / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-26T03:18:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pereira_BrunoMonteiroTavares_D.pdf: 9308561 bytes, checksum: d9bbcf8aaa7de38fba06e5228f9dccd3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Resumo: Introdução: Trauma penetrante é atualmente a principal causa de trauma cardíaco. O objetivo deste estudo é descrever e comparar as variáveis entre os pacientes com trauma cardíaco penetrante nos últimos 20 anos em um hospital universitário identificando fatores de risco para morbidade e mortalidade. Métodos: Revisão de dados de registro de trauma, seguido por análise estatística descritiva comparando os períodos 1990 a 1999 (grupo 1 , 54 casos) e 2000 a 2009 (grupo 2, 39 casos). Foram registrados dados clínicos no momento da internação hospitalar, o Índice de Gravidade da Lesão (ISS), Escala de Coma de Glasgow (GCS), e o Escore de Trauma Revisado (RTS). Resultados: A incidência de ferimentos cardíacos penetrantes foram constantes dentro do período de estudo. Os dois grupos foram semelhantes quanto à idade, mecanismo de trauma (ferimento por projétil de arma de fogo ou branca) e ISS. Grupo 1 apresentou menor pressão arterial sistólica na admissão (média de 87 contra 109 mmHg), menor GCS (12,9 vs. 14,1), RTS mais baixo (6,4 vs. 7,3), maior incidência de lesões cardíacas graus IV e V (74% vs. 48,7%), e foram menos propensos a sobreviver (0,83 contra 0,93). O principal fator de risco para o óbito foi ferimento por projétil de arma de fogo (13 vezes maior do que por arma branca), pressão arterial sistólica <90 mm Hg , GCS <8 , RTS <7,84 , lesões associadas, lesões grau IV e V e ISS >25. Observou-se uma tendência na redução de mortalidade de 20,3% para 10,3% durante o período de observação. Conclusões: Foram identificados vários fatores associados à mortalidade e morbidade. Na última década, os pacientes foram admitidos em melhor condição fisiológica, talvez refletindo uma melhora no tratamento pré-hospitalar. Observou-se uma tendência para uma menor taxa de mortalidade / Abstract: Background: Penetrating traumas, including gunshot and stab wounds, are the major causes of cardiac trauma. Our aim was to describe and compare the variables between patients with penetrating cardiac trauma in the past 20 years in a university hospital, identifying risk factors for morbidity and death. Methods: Review of trauma registry data followed by descriptive statistical analysis comparing the periods 1990 to 1999 (group 1, 54 cases) and 2000 to 2009 (group 2, 39 cases). Clinical data at hospital admission, Injury Severity Score (ISS), Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), and Revised Trauma Score (RTS) were recorded. Results: The incidences of penetrating cardiac injuries were steady within the period of study in the chosen metropolitan area. The two groups were similar regarding age, mechanism of trauma (gunshot stab), and ISS. Group 1 showed lower systolic blood pressure at admission (mean 87 versus 109 mm Hg), lower GCS (12.9 versus 14.1), lower RTS (6.4 versus 7.3), higher incidence of grade IV and V cardiac lesions (74% versus 48.7%), and were less likely to survive (0.83 versus 0.93). The major risk factor for death was gunshot wound (13 times higher than stab wound), systolic blood pressure <90 mm Hg, GCS <8, RTS <7.84, associated injuries, grade IV and V injury, and ISS >25. We observed a tendency in mortality reduction from 20.3% to 10.3% within the period of observation. Conclusions: Several associated factors for mortality and morbidity were identified. In the last decade, patients were admitted in better physiological condition, perhaps reflecting an improvement on pre-hospital treatment. We observed a trend toward a lower mortality rate / Doutorado / Fisiopatologia Cirúrgica / Doutor em Ciências

A dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Masters Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, 2002. / The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness and relative effectiveness of a topical Capsaicin cream and knee joint mobilization in the treatment of Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. / M