Comparison of Effects of Non-surgical Continuous and Intermittent Traction on Pain, Balance and Physical Function in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis

Purpose@#This study examined the comparison of effects of non-surgical continuous and intermittent traction on pain, balance and physical function in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. @*Methods@#A total of 30 knee osteoarthritis patients were recruited and randomized to a continuous traction group (n=10), an intermittent traction group (n=10), and a control group (n=10). The continuous traction group and intermittent traction group received a non-surgical continuous and intermittent knee joint traction workout five times a week, for 4 weeks. All subjects were assessed with the numeric rating scale (NRS), timed up and go test (TUGT), and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) before and after the 4-week treatment. @*Results@#As a result of comparison within groups, the continuous traction group, intermittent traction group, and control group showed a significant difference for NRS, TUGT, and WOMAC after the experiment (p<0.05). According to the comparison of the three groups, the continuous traction group showed a more effectively significant difference than the intermittent traction group and the control group in the balance and physical functions before and after the experiment (p<0.05). @*Conclusion@#This study showed that non-surgical continuous traction treatment was effective in improving pain, balance ability, and physical function in knee osteoarthritis patients.

Comparison of Effects of Non-surgical Continuous and Intermittent Traction on Pain, Balance and Physical Function in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis

Purpose@#This study examined the comparison of effects of non-surgical continuous and intermittent traction on pain, balance and physical function in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. @*Methods@#A total of 30 knee osteoarthritis patients were recruited and randomized to a continuous traction group (n=10), an intermittent traction group (n=10), and a control group (n=10). The continuous traction group and intermittent traction group received a non-surgical continuous and intermittent knee joint traction workout five times a week, for 4 weeks. All subjects were assessed with the numeric rating scale (NRS), timed up and go test (TUGT), and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) before and after the 4-week treatment. @*Results@#As a result of comparison within groups, the continuous traction group, intermittent traction group, and control group showed a significant difference for NRS, TUGT, and WOMAC after the experiment (p<0.05). According to the comparison of the three groups, the continuous traction group showed a more effectively significant difference than the intermittent traction group and the control group in the balance and physical functions before and after the experiment (p<0.05). @*Conclusion@#This study showed that non-surgical continuous traction treatment was effective in improving pain, balance ability, and physical function in knee osteoarthritis patients.

The Impact of Vibration Exercises on Shoulder Muscle Thickness

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to examine the effect of vibration exercises generated from an XCO® trainer on supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and deltoid muscle thickness. METHODS: Thirty subjects were evenly divided into two groups. Muscle thickness was measured by a sonogram prior to the study, and at three and six weeks after the intervention. Changes in muscle thickness were analyzed using a repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA). The significance level for the statistical test was set at α=0.05. RESULTS: A statistically significant differences in timing, interactions between timing and the groups, and between-group changes were demonstrated for supraspinatus muscle thickness (p 0.05). CONCLUSION: Significant changes were observed in the thickness of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and deltoid muscles, owing to the use of vibration exercises generated from an XCO® trainer. These findings can be used as a foundation for future studies on rehabilitation training.

Effects of Blood Flow Restriction and Different Support Surfaces on the Thickness of Type-I Muscle Fibers in the Trunk

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of blood flow restriction and different support surfaces for bridge exercises on the thickness of the transverse abdominis and multifidus, which are trunk-stabilizing muscles. METHODS: The study's subjects were 45 adults who were divided into three groups that performed bridge exercises over a six-week period on their respective support surfaces after blood flow restriction. Changes in the thickness of the subjects' transverse abdominis and multifidus muscles were measured using ultrasonography before the experiment, then three and six weeks after the experiment. The changes in each variable over time were analyzed using a repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). RESULTS: The transverse abdominis showed significant differences in muscle thickness with regard to time and the interaction between time and each group (p0.05). The multifidus showed significant differences in muscle thickness with regard to time, the interaction between time and each group, and changes between groups (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Blood flow restriction and different support surfaces for bridge exercises led to significant differences in the thickness of the transverse abdominis and multifidus. This study's results may be used as the basis for future studies and for rehabilitation in clinical practice.

Anaphylaxis induced by priming dose of rocuronium during induction of anesthesia: Report of two cases

We experienced 2 cases of anaphylaxis during induction of anesthesia. Anesthesia was induced with a priming dose of rocuronium and followed by thiopental sodium two minutes later. Immediately after injection of thiopental sodium, they showed a sudden active coughing, urticaria around neck, and difficult ventilation. The residual intubating dose of rocuronium was injected to do endotracheal intubation. Subsequently, patients showed severe hypotension, hypoxia, and erythema. Rapid treatment was applied and they were recovered without any complications. The first patient had rejected skin test for drugs, but the second patient had a positive skin test for rocuronium two weeks after event.

Cerebral oxygenation monitoring of patients during arthroscopic shoulder surgery in the sitting position / 대한마취과학회지

BACKGROUND: Cerebral hypotension and desaturation can occur during shoulder surgery in the seated position. We evaluated the correlation of cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) using near infra-red spectroscopy (NIRS) and mean arterial pressures (MAP) (at the levels of the brain and heart). METHODS: Fifty patients, scheduled for the arthroscopic shoulder surgery in the seated position, were enrolled to monitor the rSO2, bispectral Index (BIS), and MAPs at the levels of the brain and heart. The values of each parameter were collected at 5 min after intubation, immediately after placing the patient in the sitting position, 5 min after the patient was seated, immediately after the surgical incision, and every 30 min after incision. RESULTS: A correlation between the cerebral rSO2 and the MAP at the level of brain were statistically significant. Cerebral rSO2 and MAP after a change of posture from supine to sitting position were significantly decreased, compared to the baseline value. CONCLUSIONS: Monitoring cerebral rSO2 and MAP at the level of brain can be helpful to detect the possibility of cerebral deoxygenation earlier.

Ventricular Fibrillation Soon after Endobronchial Epinephrine Application in a Young Man: A Case Report / 대한구급학회지

Ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest rarely occur after local application of epinephrine. Local and superficial application of epinephrine is a common hemostatic method during bronchoscopy, especially after biopsies. Although high plasma levels following endobronchial application of epinephrine have been observed in previous animal studies, there is no report of ventricular fibrillation after a usual dose of endobronchial application of epinephrine during bronchoscopy. We present a case of endobronchial epinephrine-induced ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest in a 31-year-old man with no previous history of cardiac disease.

The Expressions of CD117 (c-kit) and Her-2/neu in Malignant Bone and Soft Tissue Tumors / 대한정형외과학회잡지

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of c-kit (CD117) and Her-2/neu expressions in malignant bone and soft tissue tumors and to identify a possible predictive role in patients with these malignancies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 40 archival paraffin-embedded tissue specimens of patients with 32 malignant bone tumors (23 osteosarcomas, 9 chondrosarcomas) and 8 synovial sarcomas. The gene expressions levels were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: C-kit expression was observed in 13 out of 23 osteosarcoma patients (56.5%), 4 out of 9 chondrosarcoma patients (44.4%) and 4 of 8 synovial sarcoma patients (50.0%). In particular, the relationship between c-kit expression and gender (p=0.044), a pulmonary metastasis (p=0.044), and the tumor cell grade (p=0.023) in osteosarcoma were found to be statistically significant. On the other hand, Her-2/neu expression was not found in any of the 40 cases under study. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the c-kit expression appears to play an important role in the development of a malignant bone tumor and synovial sarcoma. In particular, it should be noted that c-kit expression is found frequently in an osteosarcoma with a pulmonary metastasis. In this respect, the tyrosine kinase inhibitors can be considered to be significant in the treatment of a malignant bone tumor and a synovial sarcoma. However, Her-2/neu does not appear to play any significant role in these malignancies.