Biomedical subjects

C J Gatt

Publications and source records attributed to C J Gatt.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1996

Back pain in golf.

Although golfing is generally considered a begin activity, lower back pain is endemic among golfers. The golf swing subjects the lumbar spine to rapid, intense loads, more frequently in amateurs than in professionals. These loads predispose the golfing population to muscle strains, lumbar disc disease, spondylolysis, and facet joint arthropathy. It is imperative for all golfers to warm up properly, develop good swing mechanics, and participate in a lower back conditioning program off the golf course.

Golf↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Impact loading of the lumbar spine during football blocking.

The purpose of our study was to determine the impact force to the lumbar spine when football players hit a blocking sled. We quantified the loads at the L4-5 motion segment throughout the blocking sequence. Five Division I-A college football linemen were subjects for our study. Kinematic data were obtained while the subjects hit a blocking sled instrumented with a force plate. Three plane forces were then calculated from these data. The average impact force measured at the blocking sled was 3013 +/- 598 N. The average peak compression force at the L4-5 motion segment was 8679 +/- 1965 N. The average peak anteroposterior shear force was 3304 +/- 1116 N, and the average peak lateral shear force was 1709 +/- 411 N. The magnitude of the loads on the L4-5 motion segment during football blocking exceed those determined during fatigue studies to cause pathologic changes in both the lumbar disk and the pars interarticularis. These data suggest that the mechanics of repetitive blocking may be responsible for the increased incidence of lumbar spine injury incurred by football linemen.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Three-dimensional knee joint kinetics during a golf swing. Influences of skill level and footwear.

This study characterized knee joint kinetics during a golf swing and determined the influence of shoe type and golfer skill on the peak knee joint loads. Thirteen golfers each hit a golf ball using a five iron under two footware conditions: spiked and spikeless golf shoes. Data from a video-based motion capture system and force plates were used to compute the knee joint kinetics. Mean peak forces and moments differed significantly between the lead and trail knees, but these peak loads were not significantly affected by shoe type. Only the lead knee flexion and internal rotation moments were significantly correlated to skill level. The magnitude of some of the peak loads at the knee during the golf swing approached those reached during activities prohibited until late-stage knee rehabilitation. We concluded the following: The type of shoe worn and the skill level of the golfer need not be considered in deciding time to return to golfing; however, the leg that is recovering from surgery or injury should be considered. The most stressful phase of the golf swing, relative to the knee, is the downswing. There is probably no "normal" swing; each golfer seems to possess consistent, characteristic, patterns of knee loading.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Preemptive analgesia: its role and efficacy in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

As more outpatient orthopaedic surgical procedures are performed, postoperative pain control has gained importance. The benefits of preemptive analgesia, the use of analgesics or anesthetics or both before painful stimuli to prevent or reduce pain, have been widely published in the anesthesia and general surgery literature, but not in orthopaedic literature. We prospectively compared the effects, on postoperative pain and narcotic use, of intraarticular preoperative injections of 1) placebo with epinephrine, 2) bupivacaine with epinephrine, and 3) bupivacaine and morphine with epinephrine. Thirty patients (10 in each group) underwent arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using patellar tendon autograft under general anesthesia. Pain was assessed with a 10-point visual analog scale pre- and postoperatively, and postoperative narcotic pain medication use was recorded. Postoperative pain was significantly greater in group 1 (placebo) than in the preemptive-treatment groups (groups 2 and 3), and in group 2 than in group 3. The differences became less apparent with time, and after 1 hour, no significant differences in pain scores existed between the groups. However, intravenous narcotic pain medication was administered in the recovery room to patients with pain scores greater than 5, equalizing pain scores. Group 3 used significantly less postoperative narcotic medication than group 1. Preemptive analgesia using intraarticular bupivacaine and morphine with epinephrine resulted in lower pain scores during the 1st hour after an arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction than did preemptive treatment with bupivacaine and epinephrine or placebo and epinephrine.

Adolescent↗