ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cervical radiculopathy is a musculoskeletal disorder with an increasing prevalence in office workers. In recent years, ultrasonography (US) has been reported to be a valid, inexpensive, and noninvasive technique for the objective evaluation of muscle morphology. However, measuring deep cervical paraspinal muscle dimensions using US in patients with cervical radiculopathy has not been described. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate intrasession and intersession reliabilities of US to measure dimensions of deep cervical muscles at rest in patients with chronic cervical radiculopathy and healthy controls. DESIGN: Reliability study. SETTING: Outpatients who presented for treatment at an outpatient university physiotherapy clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Fifteen patients with cervical radiculopathy and 15 healthy controls. INTERVENTIONS: US measurements. OUTCOME: Cervical multifidus and longus colli muscle dimensions at separate occasions. METHODS: Two measurements separated by a 1-hour interval were taken on the same day and the third measurement was taken 5 days later. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), SE of measurement, and minimal detectable change were used to evaluate relative and absolute reliabilities. RESULTS: US was a highly reliable method for measuring the multifidus and longus colli muscle dimensions in patients and healthy subjects. The highest reliability scores were found for the anteroposterior dimension measurement of the multifidus muscle (ICC = 0.92) and the lateral dimension measurement of the longus colli muscle (ICC = 0.97) in healthy subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that US is a highly reliable method of measuring deep cervical muscle dimensions in patients with cervical radiculopathy and healthy controls when measured by the same investigator. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.
Subject(s)
Back Muscles/diagnostic imaging , Neck Muscles/diagnostic imaging , Radiculopathy/diagnostic imaging , Ultrasonography/methods , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Chronic Pain/diagnostic imaging , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence and risk factors for low back pain (LBP) in nursing personnel and to analyze how individual and occupational characteristics contribute to the risk of LBP. Following ethical approval, 1226 nurses were randomly recruited from 13 general hospitals in northern Iran. Different questionnaires were designed to cover personal and professional data, the prevalence, and associations of risk factors with LBP. Results indicated that prevalence of LBP in nurses was over 50%. Lifting was the most common mechanism for LBP (30.4%). Prolonged standing and rest were found to be the significant aggravating and relieving factors (57.6% and 59.2%, respectively). Absence from work because of LBP in the month before the questionnaire was completed was reported by 33.7% of the sample. The results demonstrate that the magnitude of LBP among nursing personnel appears to be high and therefore more resources should be allocated to prevent such an injury occurring in the nursing profession.
