Methods: A three-unit bridge master model was fabricated using cold-cure acrylic resin. Four combinations of different viscosities of PVS impression materials - regular body (monophase) alone, light body with regular body, light body with heavy body, and light body with putty - were used to make an impression of the master model. Ten impressions from each group were taken and Type IV gypsum stone was used to generate the dies. The dies were measured at the inter-abutment distance, occlusogingival length, and shoulder width with a measuring microscope and were compared with the master model using one-way analysis of variance and Tukey (honest significant difference) test.
Results: Differences were found for inter-abutment distance between the master model and the light body with regular body and light body with putty dies (both P < 0.02). A difference was found for shoulder width between the master model and the regular body alone die (P = 0.01). No differences were found for occlusogingival distance (all P > 0.08).
Conclusion: Results suggested inter-abutment distance was most accurate when using a PVS light body combination. Occlusogingival length was accurate using any of the studied PVS combinations, and shoulder width was more accurate when using the regular body PVS.
Relevance for patients: These results should be considered when choosing the viscosity of the PVS to use for producing impressions of high accuracy and fabricating a well-fitting fixed prosthesis.
Results: The findings showed piano players have a higher NDI, lower CVA, and RSP when compared with the non-piano players at a statistically significant level of p-value <0.05.
Objective: Playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMSD) are a common problem for the pianist. The poor upper body ergonomics influences the natural positioning of the neck and shoulders, which involves forward head posture (FHP) and rounded shoulder posture (RSP). This misaligned position could produce a sensation of pain over the upper body, which affects the piano player and computer users with similar ergonomic posture. Recently, photogrammetry methods are commonly applied in a clinical setting to assess posture. The goal of this research is to compare the upper body playing-related muscu-loskeletal disorders between the piano and the non-piano players by applying photogrammetry.
Materials and Methods: This causal-comparative study includes 70 participants with 35 piano and 35 non-piano players. The participant's FHP was assessed using a digitized photo to record the Craniovertebral angle (CVA) with the support of Kinovea software. Besides, digital Vernier Calliper used to assess the scapular index on the RSP and Neck disability indices (NDI) used to measure neck pain and functional disability of the participants.
OBJECTIVE: This 12-week pilot study examines the efficacy of applying low frequency sound wave stimulation (between 16-160 Hz) through both hands and feet on relieving pain and improving functional ability in patients with chronic back pain.
METHODS: Twenty-three participants with chronic shoulder (eleven participants) or low back pain (twelve participants) underwent a 12-week vibration therapy program of three sessions per week. A low frequency sound wave device comprising four piezoelectric vibration-type tactile tranducers enclosed in separate 5-cm diameter circular plates, which generate sinusoidal vibratory stimuli at a frequency of 16-160 Hz, was used in this study. Primary outcome measure was pain sensation measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (P-VAS). The secondary outcome measures were pain-related disability measured using the pain disability index (PDI) and quality of life measured using the SF-12.
RESULTS: At week 12, significant reductions in pain sensation and pain-related disability were observed, with mean reductions of 3.5 points in P-VAS and 13.5 points in the PDI scores. Sixty-five percent of the participants had a reduction of at least 3 points on the P-VAS score, while 52% participants showed a decrease of at least 10 points in the PDI score. Significant improvement was observed in the SF-12 physical composite score but not the mental composite score.
CONCLUSIONS: The preliminary findings showed that passive application of low frequency sound wave stimulation therapy through both hands and feet was effective in alleviating pain and improving functional ability in patients with chronic back pain.
OBJECTIVE: This study looked into whether crossbar can reliably measure Upper Instrumend Vertebra (UIV) tilt angle intraoperatively and accurately predict the UIV tilt angle postoperatively and at final follow-up.
SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Postoperative shoulder imbalance is a common cause of poor cosmetic appearance leading to patient dissatisfaction. There were no reports describing the technique or method in measuring the UIV tilt angle intraoperatively. Therefore, this study was designed to look into the reliability and accuracy of the usage of intraoperative crossbar in measuring the UIV tilt angle intraoperatively.
METHODS: Lenke 1 and 2 Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis patients who underwent instrumented Posterior Spinal Fusion using pedicle screw constructs with minimum follow-up of 24 months were recruited for this study. After surgical correction, intraoperative UIV tilt angle was measured using a crossbar. Immediate postoperative and final follow up UIV tilt angle was measured on the standing anteroposterior radiographs.
RESULTS: A total of 100 patients were included into this study. The reliability of the intraoperative crossbar to measure the optimal UIV tilt angle intraoperatively was determined by repeated measurements by assessors and measurement by different assessors. We found that the intra observer and inter observer reliability was very good with intraclass correlation coefficient values of >0.9. The accuracy of the intraoperative crossbar to measure the optimal UIV tilt angle intraoperatively was determined by comparing this measurement with the postoperative UIV tilt angle. We found that there was no significant difference (P>0.05) between intraoperative, immediate postoperative, and follow-up UIV tilt angle.
CONCLUSIONS: The crossbar can be used to measure the intraoperative UIV tilt angle consistently and was able to predict the postoperative UIV tilt angle. It was a cheap, simple, reliable, and accurate instrument to measure the intraoperative UIV tilt angle.