Influence of a Sacroiliac Belt on Pain and Functional Impairment in Patients With Low Back Pain: A Randomized Trial.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the protective influence of the Serola Sacroiliac Belt on pain and functional impairment in individuals with low back pain (LBP) during 5 days of strenuous manual labor. Methods: Thirty-three participants (mean ± standard deviation: age, 43.2 ± 11.4 years; height, 1.74 ± 0.11 m; body mass index, 88.3 ± 16.7 kg) with LBP were randomized to either condition A (wearing the Serola Sacroiliac Belt during a 10-minute daily repeated strenuous lifting task) during week 1 or condition B (not wearing a Serola Sacroiliac Belt during the same lifting task) in week 2 or vice versa. All 33 participants completed 1 week under condition A and 1 week under condition B for comparison. At the beginning and end of each week, the following dependent variables were measured: lumbar spine pain on a 0 to 10 Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), spine and thigh discomfort on a Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, and completion of a toe-touch surface electromyography flexion relaxation phenomenon test. Results: During the week that participants used the Serola Sacroiliac Belt, spine pain increased 0.2 compared with 0.9 on the NRS for those who did not use the belt. No statistically significant difference was observed for Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire data or the flexion relaxation phenomenon test in this study. Conclusion: The findings of this preliminary study suggest participants using the Serola Sacroiliac Belt while performing a daily repeated lifting task had less progression of their LBP. However, this protective value did not meet the recommended NRS for minimally clinically important difference, and there was no effect on functional impairment.

Pilot study of the impact sacroiliac joint manipulation has on walking kinematics using motion analysis technology.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of engaging in a series of larger studies measuring the effect of sacroiliac joint manipulation on walking kinematics using motion analysis technology. METHODS: Twelve college students engaged in a baseline 90-second gait analysis at 1.5 mph using infrared VICON cameras. Following this, they underwent a prone heel comparison test for functional leg length inequality. Upon examination, participants were then classified as follows: left short leg, right short leg, or no short leg. Participants in each of the 2 short leg branches of this study were then randomized to receive either chiropractic manipulative therapy to the posterior superior iliac spine on the short limb side or no manipulation. Recruitment was ongoing for this pilot study until 1 participant was recruited in each of the following 5 comparative study groups: left short leg-manipulation, left short leg-no manipulation (control 1), right short leg-manipulation, right short leg-no manipulation (control 2), and no short leg (control 3). All participants then underwent another 90-second gait analysis. Data were then grouped and submitted to a blinded biomechanist to determine if there were any unique biomechanical differences between the groups. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were measured because of this being a pilot study with a small sample size. CONCLUSIONS: The data from this study indicate that a series of larger studies with this design is feasible.

Thoracolumbar spinal manipulation and the immediate impact on exercise performance.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine if thoracolumbar chiropractic manipulative therapy (CMT) had an immediate impact on exercise performance by measuring blood lactate concentration, exercise heart rate, and rating of perceived exertion during a treadmill-based graded exercise test (GXT). METHODS: Ten healthy, asymptomatic male and 10 female college students (age = 27.5 ± 3.7 years, height = 1.68 ± 0.09 m, body mass = 71.3 ± 11.6 kg: mean ± SD) were equally randomized into an AB:BA crossover study design. Ten participants were in the AB group, and 10 were in the BA group. The study involved 1 week of rest in between each of the 2 conditions: A (prone Diversified T12-L1 CMT) vs B (no CMT). Participants engaged in a treadmill GXT 5 minutes after each week's condition (A or B). Outcome measures were blood lactate concentration, exercise heart rate, and rating of perceived exertion monitored at the conclusion of each 3-minute stage of the GXT. The exercise test continued until the participant achieved greater than 8 mmol/L blood lactate, which correlates with maximal to near-maximal exercise effort. A dependent-samples t test was used to make comparisons between A and B conditions related to exercise performance. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was shown among any exercise response dependent variables in this study. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this research preliminarily suggest that CMT to T12-L1 does not immediately impact exercise performance during a treadmill-based GXT using healthy college students.

Classification of rhythmic locomotor patterns in electromyographic signals using fuzzy sets.

BACKGROUND: Locomotor control is accomplished by a complex integration of neural mechanisms including a central pattern generator, spinal reflexes and supraspinal control centres. Patterns of muscle activation during walking exhibit an underlying structure in which groups of muscles seem to activate in united bursts. Presented here is a statistical approach for analyzing Surface Electromyography (SEMG) data with the goal of classifying rhythmic "burst" patterns that are consistent with a central pattern generator model of locomotor control. METHODS: A fuzzy model of rhythmic locomotor patterns was optimized and evaluated using SEMG data from a convenience sample of four able-bodied individuals. As well, two subjects with pathological gait participated: one with Parkinson's Disease, and one with incomplete spinal cord injury. Subjects walked overground and on a treadmill while SEMG was recorded from major muscles of the lower extremities. The model was fit to half of the recorded data using non-linear optimization and validated against the other half of the data. The coefficient of determination, R(2), was used to interpret the model's goodness of fit. RESULTS: Using four fuzzy burst patterns, the model was able to explain approximately 70-83% of the variance in muscle activation during treadmill gait and 74% during overground gait. When five burst functions were used, one function was found to be redundant. The model explained 81-83% of the variance in the Parkinsonian gait, and only 46-59% of the variance in spinal cord injured gait. CONCLUSIONS: The analytical approach proposed in this article is a novel way to interpret multichannel SEMG signals by reducing the data into basic rhythmic patterns. This can help us better understand the role of rhythmic patterns in locomotor control.

Design and synthesis of thiazole-5-hydroxamic acids as novel histone deacetylase inhibitors.

We have designed and synthesized a series of structurally novel hydroxamic acid-based histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors characterized by a zinc chelating head group attached directly to a thiazole ring. The thiazole ring connects to a piperazine spacer, which is capped with a sulfonamide group. These novel molecules potently inhibit an HDAC enzyme mixture derived from HeLa cervical carcinoma cells and show potent antiproliferative activity against the breast cancer cell line MCF7.

Mercaptoamide-based non-hydroxamic acid type histone deacetylase inhibitors.

Inhibitors of histone deacetylases (HDAC) are emerging as a promising class of anti-cancer agents. A mercaptoamide functionality was designed as a bidentate zinc chelator and incorporated into the hydroxamic acid based SAHA (1) scaffold in order to identify non-hydroxamate compounds as potential inhibitors of histone deacetylases. Two sets of mercaptoamides 2 and 3 with varying spacer length were synthesized and their HDAC inhibitory activity was evaluated. Low micromolar inhibition was observed for mercaptoamides 2e, 3b, and 3d.