Hip Joint Abnormalities During Midstance in Osteoarthritic Patients.

Osteoarthritis is one of the most debilitating diseases in Europe affecting the lower limb joints, especially the hip and knee, having a bad influence on gait in the long run as well. Rehabilitation physicians use gait in order for the whole body to be seen in ensemble, and through midstance as moment of gait to also take predilection to falls into consideration. Goniometry is the quantifiable measure of a rehabilitation treatment by measuring the range of motion of each treated joint and studied during time. The patients that volunteered to be part of this study have been divided into four groups, depending on the level of osteoarthritis present at the lower limb joints: hip, knee, both hip and knee osteoarthritis or control group with no osteoarthritis, have been asked to walk for a few times and the video recordings were uploaded into the Angles App where we measured the lower limb joint angles during midstance. Patients with knee osteoarthritis present a more extended hip on both dominant and non-dominant sides compared to the ones with hip osteoarthritis, hip and knee osteoarthritis or control group. The results can be explained through the body's kinematic chains that link the knee and hip, hip and pelvis during the midstance phase in the sagittal plane. A physician can use a video goniometry app in order for him to thoroughly evaluate an osteoarthritic patient as well as follow him or her during the entire course of treatment.

Complexity of Gait Angle Measurements at the Ankle Joint During Midstance in Patients with Osteoarthritis.

The evolution of rehabilitation treatments can be quantified through goniometric measurements. Thus, a video goniometer, and an app-based goniometry program can be both useful and a reliable method of obtaining a data base through which we can see if a certain rehabilitation treatment works out for our patients and during times such as the Covid-19 pandemic, a telemedicine approach can be done. Midstance is a sub-moment of the gait pattern, important in the stability of the lower limb, but that can also direct us towards a patient prone to falls. Osteoarthritis is a disease that causes high disability because of the cellular degradation that also affects normal gait. Four groups of subjects: subjects suffering from hip osteoarthritis, knee osteoarthritis, hip and knee osteoarthritis and control group, have been filmed and recorded their midstance joint range of motion in the Angles App. The dominant limb has been proven to have a more extended ankle in the hip osteoarthritis group, compared to knee osteoarthritis, hip and knee osteoarthritis or control group. Females have presented a more extended ankle, wearing high heels for a long period of time can be the cause of that. Subjects with knee osteoarthritis have presented a more flexed ankle in the dominant limb compared to the ones suffering from hip and knee osteoarthritis or control group. The ankle joint can also have its range of motion measured with a video goniometer, helping us compare results in between sessions of rehabilitation in osteoarthritic patients.

Vertebral body clinico-morphological features following percutaneous vertebroplasty versus the conservatory approach.

Most percutaneous vertebroplasty procedures are being performed in order to relieve pain in patients with severe osteoporosis and associated stable fractures of one or more vertebral bodies. In addition, vertebroplasty is also recommended for patients suffering from post-traumatic symptoms associated with vertebral fractures, patients with large angiomas positioned inside the vertebral body, with an increased risk for collapse fracture and also patients presenting with pain associated with vertebral body metastatic disease. On another aspect, it is possible that in isolated cases, an orthopedic surgeon confronted with a vertebra plana presentation will recommend bone cement injection into the vertebral bodies adjacent to the fractured one, in order to have a better and more robust substrate for placement of screws or other fixation devices. The aim of our study is to compare results attained by the Department of Interventional Radiology, in performing this procedure, with results attained by following the classical orthopedic treatment procedure, involving non-operative treatment, using medication and bracing varying from simple extension orthoses in order to limit spinal flexion, light bracing for contiguous fractures, presenting either angulation or compression, and for severe cases standard thoracolumbosacral orthoses (TLSOs).

Correlations between etiological factors and lesion severity in carotid artery atheromatosis.

Occurrence of atheromatous plaques on the internal wall of large and medium sized arteries represents a widely spread disease. It is especially found in the elderly, but also in individuals belonging to the 4th-6th decade of life with an increasing incidence. Correlating the main etiological factors with morphological change severity, in conjunction with settling the importance of each factor on its own in generating and developing arterial plaques, has an important predictive role in the evolution of atherosclerotic pathology. The purpose of this study is to investigate the existence of a correlation between the main factors linked to atheromatosis and the degree of severity of the carotid artery stenosis. This is obtained by ultrasonographic examination of the carotid arteries in correlation with determining serum cholesterol levels, thus ascertaining the risk for atheroma related events and disease progression.