In developing a method of quantifying stability in the lumbar spine Cholewicki and McGill (1996) have also broached the notion of sufficient stability, where too much stiffness (and stability) would hinder motion. Thus people highly skilled at maintaining stability may use different and optimal strategies, where <i>sufficient</i> stability is maintained. The purpose of this work was to explore the contributors to <i>sufficient</i> stability, how they coordinate and relate to injury mechanisms. This work represents a cascade of investigations where. 1) To explore the balance of various sources of stiffness and their effect on the critical load and post-buckling behaviour, simulations were undertaken where the buckled configuration of the spine was predicted and its stability in this new configuration was assessed. 2) The various sources of stiffness contributing to stability in the lumbar spine have been in some cases found to be deficient. The question of how these deficiencies place individuals at risk of instability, if at all, remains unresolved. A challenged breathing task was used to determine if there was a difference in stabilizing potential between healthy individuals and low back pain sufferers. Given that differences in stabilizing potential are apparent, several tasks which included a predetermined motor strategy, such as 3)pressurizing the abdomen and 4) abdominal hollowing vs. muscle bracing, were evaluated to determine if individuals can utilize motor strategies to augment stability. The stabilizing potential of abdominal pressure (IAP) and its interaction with muscle activation was evaluated. Some individuals are more skilled at stabilizing their lumbar spine than others. Some consciously controlled motor strategies are better stabilizers than others. These strategies highlight the relative contributions of various components (posture, passive tissue, muscle activation, and load) in that no single muscle dominates stability and IAP appears to augment stability beyond muscle activation alone. The margin of safety is considerable and depends on the task at hand, but it is possible to speculate on which tissues are at greatest risk of injury.

Background: Prolonged sitting in an automobile seat may alter the passive tissue stiffness of the lumbar spine differentially in males and females. Gender specific ergonomic interventions may be indicated for the automobile seat design. Purpose: To compare time-varying passive lumbar spine stiffness in response to a two hour simulated driving trial with time-varying lumbar spine and pelvic postures during sitting in an automobile seat. A secondary purpose was to investigate gender differences in lumbar spine stiffness, seat/occupant pressure profile, discomfort rating and posture. Methods: Twenty (10 males, 10 females) subjects with no recent history of back pain were recruited from a university population. Participants completed a simulated driving task for two hours. Passive lumbar range of motion was measured on a customized frictionless jig before, halfway through and at the end of the two-hour driving trial. Changes in the passive moment-angle curves were quantified using the transition zone slopes, breakpoints and maximum lumbar flexion angles. Lumbar spine and pelvic postures were monitored continuously during the simulated driving trial with average and maximum lumbar flexion angles as well as pelvic tilt angles being calculated. Results: Both men and women initially demonstrated an increase in transitional zone stiffness after 1 hour of sitting. After 2 hours of sitting, transitional zone stiffness was found to increase in males and decrease in females. During sitting, women were found to sit with significantly greater lumbar flexion than males and to significantly change the amount of lumbar flexion over the 2 hour period of simulated driving. Conclusions: Postural differences during simulated driving were demonstrated between genders in this study. In order to prevent injury to the passive elements of the spine during prolonged driving, gender specific ergonomic interventions, such as improved lumbar support, are indicated for the automobile seat.

This dissertation presents a study of African American and Hispanic speakers in East Austin, Texas, an area that has been historically segregated and is now experiencing rapid gentrification. The current literature is lacking research on minority participation in sound change. This dissertation contributes to redressing the deficit in this area by describing data from sociolinguistic interviews with African American and Hispanic speakers; the following questions are considered: How do social variables influence a linguistic system? How do the social pressures of gentrification influence linguistic variables? To what extent do minority speakers participate in sound changes present in the majority group's variety of English? Specifically, it considers GOOSE and GOAT fronting and the relative positions of LOT and THOUGHT. It has previously been suggested that only Anglo speakers participate in changes affecting these vowels. With regard to GOOSE and GOAT, in many varieties of Southern English, the back vowels become fronted in Anglo speech while they remain backed in African American and Hispanic speech (e.g., Thomas, 2001a). However, the findings discussed here show that African American and Hispanic speakers may front these vowels to achieve particular stylistic purposes. With regard to LOT and THOUGHT, these vowel classes have merged, or are undergoing merger, in many regions of the United States (Labov, Ash, & Boberg, 2006). In Texas, Anglo and Hispanic speakers exhibit the LOT~THOUGHT merger while African American speakers reportedly do not and in general resist the merger (Bailey, Wikle, & Sand, 1991; Bernstein, 1993; Labov et al., 2006; Thomas, 2001a). The findings presented here suggest a trend for LOT~THOUGHT moving towards merger among African American speakers in Central Texas. This is unexpected among African American speakers in Texas and in the U.S. at large. The findings presented illustrate the importance of ethnically diverse samples in describing speech. In Texas where there is a large population of Hispanic residents, we cannot claim to have a thorough knowledge of the regional variety of English without investigating minority speakers. The analysis presented here is a step towards describing a more diverse data set of regional American English. / text

No description available.

Su juosmeninės stuburo dalies skausmu, populiariai dar vadinamu juosmens skausmu, bent kartą per gyvenimą susiduria apie 80 proc. žmonių. Ši patologija rimtai komplikuoja gyvenimo kokybę – ją dažnai lydi neigiamos tiek ekonominės, socialinės (pvz., nedarbingumas), tiek psichologinės (pvz., depresija) pasekmės. Medicininiu požiūriu didžiausia problema, susijusi su šia patologija, yra ta, kad itin komplikuotas juosmeninės stuburo dalies skausmo atsiradimo priežasties nustatymas (net 90 proc. atvejų ji yra nespecifinė, nenustatoma tiksli mechaninė disfunkcija, lemianti sutrikimą). Tai žymiai apsunkina gydymo bei reabilitacijos procesą. Vienas novatoriškiausių būdų nugaros skausmo diagnostikai mokslo pasaulyje – šlaunies sukamųjų (rotaciniai) judesių amplitudės klubo sąnaryje rodikliai. Mokslininkų požiūriai šiuo klausimu iki šiol gan kontraversiški. Tad atsižvelgiant į problemos aktualumą bei svarbą kineziterapiauto praktikai, buvo bandoma detaliau patikslinti hipotezę, kad egzistuoja ryšys tarp lėtinio juosmenin��s stuburo dalies nugaros skausmo ir šlaunies sukamųjų judesių amplitudės klubo sąnaryje. Atliktas tyrimas, kurio pagrindiniai uždaviniai buvo šie: 1. Nustatyti ir įvertinti klubo sąnario sukamųjų judesių amplitudę, žmonių jaučiančių lėtinį juosmeninės stuburo dalies skausmą ir palyginti juos pagal lytį bei amžių. 2. Nustatyti ir įvertinti klubo sąnario sukamųjų judesių amplitudę, žmonių nejaučiančių lėtinio juosmeninės stuburo dalies skausmo ir palyginti juos pagal... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Around 80% of the population encounter pain in low back part of the spine, commonly also known as low back pain, at least once in the lifetime. This pathology seriously complicates the quality of life: it is oftentimes accompanied by negative economic and social consequences (e.g. incapacity for work) as well as psychological consequences (e.g. depression). From medical point of view, the biggest problem associated with this pathology is that the diagnostics of the reason for emergence of low back pain is extremely complicated (in even 90% of the cases, this reason is non-specific, no accurate mechanical dysfunction is detected that would result in the disorder). This significantly aggravates the treatment and rehabilitation process. One of the most novel ways of diagnostics for the back pain worldwide is the establishment of indicators for hip rotation range of motion in the hip joint. So far, the views of scientists on this issue are rather controversial. Therefore, taking into account the relevance of the problem and its importance for the practice of a physicaltherapist, the objective was to adjust the hypothesis that a particular relation exists between the pain in the low back part of the spine and the hip rotation range of motion in the hip joint. A research has been made to fulfill the following tasks: 1. Definition and evaluation of the hip rotation range of motion of the people suffering from chronic low back pain and their comparison by sex and age. 2... [to full text]

No description available.

Recorded on July 27, 2007 by Eugene Barsky, Physiotherapy Outreach Librarian, UBC / N/A

Sammanfattning Syfte och frågeställningar: Syftet med föreliggande studie var att beskriva prevalens av ryggsmärta hos ett slumpmässigt urval av svenska ungdomar ur SIH-studien 2004, Skola-Idrott-Hälsa en nationell studie om barns och ungdomars hälsa och omgivande faktorers betydelse för deras fysiska aktivitet. Dessutom var syftet att beskriva köns- och åldersskillnader samt hur stor andel av de med generell ryggsmärta 2004 som hade rapporterat ryggsmärta 3 år tidigare. Vidare var syftet att koda ryggsmärtan i fyra olika fält markerad på smärtteckning, och undersöka om skillnader förelåg mellan barn och ungdomar med ländryggsbesvär och de utan ryggbesvär i fysisk aktivitet, fysisk inaktivitet samt psykologiska faktorer såsom stress, nedstämdhet och trötthet. Metod: Barn och ungdomar 12, 15 och 18 år svarade i enkät på frågan: har du ont i ryggen idag, och markerade ryggsmärta på en smärtteckning. Denna kodades och smärtan kartlades utifrån 4 anatomiska lokalisationer, eller fält: 1)nacke, 2)bröstrygg, 3)ländrygg och 4)smärta i fler än ett fält på ryggen. Den kodade ryggsmärtan presenterades och köns- och åldersskillnader beskrevs. Fält 3)ländrygg studerades separat och sambandet mellan faktorer i SIH-studiens enkät som representerar fysisk aktivitet och fysisk inaktivitet samt stress, trötthet och nedstämdhet jämfört med individer utan ryggsmärta. Resultat: Ryggsmärta rapporterades av 23%, 274 individer, av alla i studien och fler flickor än pojkar rapporterade ryggsmärta, skillnaden var signifikant p&lt;0,001. Ryggsmärta rapporterades av 23% redan år 2001. Ländryggen var den vanligaste smärt-lokalisationen hos både pojkar och flickor och rapporterades av 46% av individerna som hade ryggsmärta. Fler flickor 60% än pojkar 40% rapporterade ländryggssmärta. Smärtan ökade mest från årskurs 6 till 9 hos individerna med ländryggsmärta och smärta i fler än ett fält på ryggen. Färre individer med ländryggssmärta tävlade i idrott eller deltog i idrottsförening. Större andel individer med ländryggsmärta chattade/surfade och spelade dataspel än individerna utan ryggsmärta (p=0,047). Unga med ländryggsmärta rapporterade mer stress, trötthet och nedstämdhet (p&lt;0,001).  Slutsats: Ryggsmärta rapporterades av 23% av alla individer i SIH-studien 2004. Ländryggen var den vanligaste smärtlokalisationen hos både pojkar och flickor och smärtan ökade främst från årskurs 6 till 9. Fler flickor än pojkar rapporterade ryggsmärta. Mindre andel individer med ländryggssmärta tävlade i drott eller deltog i idrottsförening och de unga med ländryggssmärta uppgav mer stress, trötthet och nedstämdhet än individer utan ryggsmärta. Signifikant fler individer med ländryggssmärta ägnade mer tid att chatta/surfa på internet och spela dataspel på helgerna än individerna utan ryggsmärta (p=0,047). / Abstract. Purpose and Issues: The aim of the present study was to describe the prevalence of back pain in a random sample of Swedish adolescents in the SIH-survey 2004, a national survey about health in children and adolescents and possible factors of importance of physical activity in their surrounding. The aim was also to describe the gender and age distribution and if those with back pain in 2004 had back pain 3 years earlier. Furthermore, the aim was to encode back pain in four different fields, marked on a paindrawing, and examine whether there were differences between children and adolescents with low back pain and those without back pain and physical activity, physical inactivity, and psychological factors such as stress, depression and fatigue.  Method: Children and adolescents 12, 15 and 18 years old answered the question in a questionnaire: Do you have a sore back today, and highlighted back pain on a paindrawing. The coded backpain was mapped by four anatomical locations, or fields: 1) neck, 2) thoracic spine, 3) lumbar and 4) pain in more than one field at the back. The coded back pain and gender and age distribution were described. Field 3) lumbar spine, were studied separately and relationships between factors in the SIH-study questionnaire that represents physical activity and physical inactivity and stress, fatigue and depression compared with individuals without back pain. Results: Back pain was reported by 23%, 274 individuals, of all participating in the study and significantly more girls than boys reported back pain. Back pain was reported by 23% already in 2001. The lower back was the most common location of pain in both boys and girls and was reported by 46% of individuals who reported back pain. More girls 60% than boys 40% reported low back pain. The pain increased most from grades 6 to 9 in individuals with low back pain and pain in more than one field at the back. Less number of individuals with low back pain were competing in sports and participated in a sports-club. Young people with low back pain reported significantly more stress, fatigue and depression (p&lt;0,001). Conclusion: Back pain was reported by 23% of all individuals participating in the SIH-study 2004. The lower back was the most common location of pain in both boys and girls and the pain increased primarily from grades 6 to 9. Less number of individuals with low back pain competed in sports and participated in a sports-club. Individuals with low back pain reported significantly more stress, fatigue and depression than individuals without back pain (p&lt;0,001). Significantly more individuals with low back pain played computer games and chatted/surfed on the internet during weekends than individuals without backpain (p=0,047).

The topic of this work – „The physical therapy management of a patient with low back pain in sanatorium „Lietuva“. The study was caried out in sanatorium „Lietuva“ Druskininkai from 2003 to 2004. 60 participants took part in the study. The age of participants from 18 to 74. First group (9 men and 21 women) with low back pain to continue exercing after treatment at home and second control group (5 men and 25 women) noexercing at home. The course of treatment consisted 14 day 30 – 45 min two time by day 6 day by weak. The purpose of study carried out by us was determine the change of the pain and the functioal state of the back muscles in the course of these procedures. Pain intensity (visual analog skale) in the active rehabilitation group (p<0,05) than in the passive control treatmen group after treatment was 3,07 ± 0,14 points. The abdominal muscle strangeht and abdominal and lumbar muscle endurance change the exercise time in both groups but in the active exercise group significanty more (p<0,05) after 14 day treatment. The spine muscle flexibility was still greater in both groups after programmed exercise. The study show that the patient must to do actine exercise at home because the pain did not disappear after therapy.

The purpose of this research is twofold: 1) to apply a user-centred approach to examine the usability and acceptability of an on-body ergonomic aid called the Personal Lift Assistive Device (PLAD) in a variety of industrial work environments and 2) to utilize subjective user acceptability data on discomfort, pain and overall PLAD assessment by participants to identify design features that need improvement in the next PLAD iteration. Case studies took place in four different industrial work environments: two distribution centre environments, one retail store environment and one automotive assembly plant environment. These environments were selected to represent different industrial work environments. In total, 20 industrial workers were selected to wear the PLAD and provide their feedback. Results were obtained using subjective questionnaires through verbal and written comments as well as through direct observation of the participants. Three major design changes occurred to the original PLAD iteration tested at the first industrial location. These included: 1) using different stiffness levels of springs for different sizes of individuals in an attempt to decrease discomfort and optimize the effectiveness of the PLAD, 2) an increase in pelvic spacer size and surface area contacting the user’s body to reduce discomfort and 3) modification to the shoulder harness including; shape, dimensions and amount of cushioning to reduce discomfort. Currently, three major design changes were identified and still need to be addressed. These include: 1) reduction of thermal discomfort caused by wearing the PLAD, 2) validation of selecting the appropriate spring stiffness for small, medium and large users of the PLAD (male and female) under various working postures and 3) simplification of the donning and doffing process. Additionally, a simple PLAD spring stiffness sizing chart was created to aid potential manufacturers of the PLAD to select the appropriate spring stiffness for various users of the PLAD. This sizing chart was designed to maintain an average lumbar moment reduction of 15%, while taking discomfort of the shoulders caused by the spring stiffness and overall cost into consideration. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-28 09:03:01.463