Motor control spine

BACKGROUND: Lower capacity to generate knee extension maximal voluntary force (MVF) has been observed in individuals affected with patellar tendinopathy (PT) compared to asymptomatic controls. This MVF deficit is hypothesized to emanate from alterations in corticospinal excitability (CSE). The modulation of CSE is intricately linked to the excitability levels at multiple sites, encompassing neurones within the corticospinal tract (CST), intracortical neurones within the primary motor cortex (M1), and the alpha motoneurone...

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate resolution of radiculopathy in one-level lumbar fusion with indirect or direct decompression techniques. METHODS: Patients ≥18 years of age with preoperative radiculopathy undergoing single-level lumbar fusion with up to 2-year follow-up were grouped by indirect and direct decompression. Direct decompression (DD) group included ALIF and LLIF with posterior DD procedure as well as all TLIF...

BACKGROUND: Robotic spinal surgery may result in better pedicle screw placement accuracy, and reduction in radiation exposure and length of stay, compared to freehand surgery. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to compare screw placement accuracy of robot-assisted surgery with integrated 3D computer-assisted navigation versus freehand surgery with 2D fluoroscopy for arthrodesis of the thoraco-lumbar spine. METHODS: This is a single-centre evaluator-blinded RCT with a 1:1 allocation ratio...

BACKGROUND: Depression is a prevalent nonmotor symptom in Parkinson disease and can greatly reduce the quality of life for patients; the dopamine receptors found in glutamatergic pyramidal cells in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) play a role in regulating local field activity, which in turn affects behavioural and mood disorders. Given research showing that glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) may have an antidepressant effect, we sought to evaluate the impact of exogenous GDNF on depression-like behaviour in mouse models of Parkinson disease...

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of tract-specific diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics in identifying the responsible segments for neurological dysfunction in cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). METHODS: The study encompassed nineteen participants diagnosed with CSM, including 10 males and 9 females. Additionally, a control group consisting of ten healthy caregivers (5 males and 5 females) were recruited with no symptoms and no compressions on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)...

Synapse formation following the generation of postsynaptic dendritic spines is essential for motor learning and functional recovery after brain injury. The C-terminal fragment of agrin cleaved by neurotrypsin induces dendritic spine formation in the adult hippocampus. Since the α3 subunit of sodium-potassium ATPase (Na/K ATPase) is a neuronal receptor for agrin in the central nervous system, cardiac glycosides might facilitate dendritic spine formation and subsequent improvements in learning. This study investigated the effects of cardiac glycoside digoxin on dendritic spine turnover and learning performance in mice...

A single congenital muscular torticollis (CMT) is a postural musculoskeletal deformity and is characterized by the shortening or stiffness of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. The reported incidence of CMT ranges from 0.2% to 2%. The objective is to evaluate the effect of physical therapy programs on CMT. For the search, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, PEDro and Cochrane databases were used. Randomized controlled trials published between 2018 and 2023 have been included. This study follows the PRISMA 2020 statement and has been registered in the PROSPERO database...

BACKGROUND: Children with Unilateral Spastic Cerebral Palsy (USCP) have an asymmetrical postural pattern. Although functional limitations are less, deteriorations in spinal posture are observed. RESEARCH QUESTION: What is the effect of structured training on spinal posture and selective motor control of upper extremity? METHODS: Forty five children with USCP were included in the study. Participants were children ages 3-18 with GMFCS levels 1 and 2...

Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is a spinal condition of growing importance due to its increasing prevalence within the ageing population. DCM involves the degeneration of the cervical spine due to various processes such as disc ageing, osteophyte formation, ligament hypertrophy or ossification, as well as coexisting congenital anomalies. This article provides an overview of the literature on DCM and considers areas of focus for future research. A patient with DCM can present with a variety of symptoms ranging from mild hand paraesthesia and loss of dexterity to a more severe presentation of gait disturbance and loss of bowel/bladder control...

OBJECTIVE: Spinal endoscopy radiofrequency is a minimally invasive technique for lumbar disc herniation (LDH) and low back pain (LBP). However, recurring LDH/LBP following spinal endoscopy radiofrequency is a significant problem. Paravertebral musculature plays a crucial role in spine stability and motor function, and the purpose of the present study was to identify whether patients' baseline lumbar muscular electrophysiological function could be a predictor of recurring LDH/LBP. METHODS: This was a prospective follow-up and case-control study focusing on elderly patients with LDH who were treated in our department between January 1, 2018, and October 31, 2021...

Lumbar erector spinae (LES) contribute to spine postural and voluntary control. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) preferentially depolarizes different neural circuits depending on the direction of electrical currents evoked in the brain. Based on recent evidence, posteroanterior current (PA-TMS) and anteroposterior (AP-TMS) current would respectively depolarize neurons in the primary motor cortex (M1) and the premotor cortex. These regions may contribute differently to LES control. This study examined whether responses evoked by PA- and AP-TMS are different during the preparation and execution of LES voluntary and postural tasks...

Introduction The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires that residents in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) residency observe or perform certain interventional procedures, one of which is an interlaminar epidural steroid injection (ILESI). While the traditional learning model relying heavily on observation is commonplace, it leaves the practice phase of learning to happen on real patients. High-fidelity simulation may be a worthwhile alternative as a training approach to increase physician comfort with the procedure and improve patient safety...

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is broadly classified into pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB. Skeletal TB is considered to be a form of extrapulmonary TB whose incidence is around 1% of all forms of TB. The incidence of spinal TB is more than 50% of the entire skeletal TB. METHODS: A total of 92 consecutive patients, treated over a period of 2 years (January 2021-January 2023), are retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: In our study, out of 92 patients, the pain had subsided in 90% of cases, and 12 patients showed improvement in motor power postoperatively...

INTRODUCTION: Inactivity and long periods of sitting are common in our society, even though they pose a health risk. Dynamic sitting is recommended to reduce this risk. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of continuous passive motion (CPM) conducted by a novel motorized office chair on lumbar lordosis and trunk muscle activation, oxygen uptake and attentional control. STUDY DESIGN: Randomized, single-session, crossover with two periods/conditions...

BACKGROUND: Multicentric Carpo-Tarsal Osteolysis Syndrome (MCTO) is an autosomal dominant disease with increased bone reabsorption in the carpus and tarsus and the elbows, knees and spine. The disease is extremely heterogeneous and secondary and tertiary injuries vary widely and can lead to progressive disability and severe functional limitations. In addition to the available and upcoming drug therapies, physical medicine and rehabilitation are important treatment options. Currently, the indication and plan are overlooked, nonspecific and reported only for one patient...

BACKGROUND: Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients have been found to exhibit cortical asymmetry. Although asymmetries in cortical structures have been found in patients with AIS, there has been no research on how conservative treatments affect cerebellar functional organization. AIMS: This study aimed to examine the impact of conservative treatments on perceptual and cognitive asymmetry in the auditory system assessed by dichotic listening in AIS patients with thoracic major curves...

BACKGROUND: Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is the most common degenerative dysfunction of the spinal cord in the cervical spine in patients older than 55 years. The Japanese Orthopedic Association developed a scoring system to quantify clinical impairment of CSM patients, allocate them according to the degree of impairment, and suggest best timing for surgery. The original version evaluates the upper limb motor function through the ability of feeding with chopsticks, which are not intrinsic in western populations...

INTRODUCTION: Mechanical chronic low back pain is often associated with impaired neuromuscular control of the lumbar multifidus muscles, the most important stabilizers of the lumbar spine. Restorative neurostimulation is a modality for the treatment for this specific subset of patients aimed to facilitate restoration of neuromuscular control by bilateral stimulation of the L2 medial branches. Evidence from both prospective and randomised clinical trials to date has demonstrated substantial improvements in clinical outcomes such as pain, disability and health-related quality of life...

INTRODUCTION: Gait disturbance due to compressive cervical myelopathy has been previously described. However, data on how gait disturbance varies with the degree of lower extremity motor impairment are limited. Therefore, we investigated the characteristics of gait analysis based on severity and determined how gait disturbance progresses in compressive cervical myelopathy. METHODS: We enrolled 44 patients (32 men and 12 women; mean age, 65.0 years) out of 108 consecutive patients with compressive cervical myelopathy who underwent spinal cord decompression surgery in our hospital...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by cardinal motor signs: 4-6 Hz resting tremor, rigidity, and bradykinesia. In addition, 3-18% of PD patients have camptocormia, an abnormal forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine, which may have a negative impact on patients' quality of life. Different possible treatments have been suggested for such a condition, but no one is resolutive. This study aims to define the possible impact of DBS, with selective targeting on the dorsal-lateral region of the STN, on the sagittal balance of patients affected by PD...