Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J Grifka.
Injection therapy as part of orthopaedic pain treatment is of major importance in sciatica. It helps to differentiate unclear complaints and allows a break through of the vicious circle of pain and muscle spasm. Pharmacological principles and possible complications have to be observed. The different techniques need experience and manual training. The paper describes the various injection techniques in detail.
Chronic low back pain can be considered to be one of the most frequently treated and most costly diseases in modern industrial societies. Dysfunctions and imbalances of the spine-supporting muscles increase the risk of low back pain. Consequently preventive treatment and rehabilitation have to aim at preserving and restoring the full capacity of the spine-supporting muscles as well as training coordination and spine-friendly behaviour. In addition to various measures of pain therapy, physiotherapeutic treatment including neuro-physiotherapy, physical treatment (eg electrotherapy), balneotherapy and supportive behavioural training, medical rehabilitation therapy (MRT) ranks among the most effective ways of treating low back pain. MRT applies guidelines and methods of exercise methodology within medically indicated programmes of preventive treatment and rehabilitation. Various objectives of MRT are outlined with special regard to the stages of MRT treatment, emphasizing positive adaptation of the neuro-muscular system in the course of rehabilitation. Physicians are responsible for MRT diagnosis and control. Taking into account the base disorder and the progress of therapy physiotherapists and the physicians in charge determine MRT objectives and treatment strategies.
Guidelines are systematically developed statements of the actual knowledge in order to assist doctors and patients by the decision of appropriate health care. Since 1998 the DGOT has published 22 well structured guidelines, 20 guidelines are under construction. The AWMF as the coordinator of guideline constructing of all scientific medical societies has published 629 guidelines since 1995. The publication of guidelines of the DGOT and the BVO is the first step for dissemination, next steps should be implementation und evaluation. Then it will be evident whether change in medical practice will occur.
For the operative procedure in lumbar disc extrusion it is important to expose the prolapsed disc and sequestrum without disintegration of the musculature and branches of r. dorsalis nervi spinalis or provoking lesions in the spinal canal. A classification helps to determine exact description of localization of disc material in craniocaudal and mediolateral directions. It can be correlated with the interlaminar window as a structure seen in the operative procedure. A speculum helps to limit the exposure for an interlaminar as well as a lateral access, thus reaching the structures concerned in the spinal canal with minimal irritation of the surrounding tissues. For interlaminar access partial excision of the lig. flavum is sufficient. The extrusions in the foraminal region that can be exposed laterally from a medial skin incision, as well as from a paramedial are between m. multifidus and m. longissimus. In revision surgery, the upper laminar corner is advantageous for entering the spinal canal.
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Whiplash injuries of the cervical spine are of special medical and socio-economic importance. Biomechanical studies of the injury have proven, that a hypertranslation of the capito-cervical region takes place first, leading to ligamentous hyperdistension and ruptures, when exceeding elastic deformation, thus possibly resulting in mechanical disturbance and rotatory malpositioning. Diagnosis of so called "functional disorders" bears difficulties concerning objective tests for structural lesions. This demands the definition of diagnostic parameters and clinical signs, which also consider vegetative phenomena. This paper aims at a systematic clinical and radiological check. Adequate therapeutic means have to be concordant to prognosis. Therefore functional parameters should already determine differential diagnosis. This is based on technical feasibilities and needs future scientific efforts.
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Motion analysis of the cervical spine is a sensitive tool in the fields of preventive and clinical biomechanics of whiplash. In the field of preventive biomechanics motion analysis contributes to validation and optimisation of dummy based crash test experiments and simulations. In the clinical field motion analysis up to now is of restricted value. Data exist about restrictions and pathologies of movement and motion of the cervical spine, coordinative disturbances, postural control, TMJ-function and oculomotor disturbances after whiplash. The standardisation of technical and clinical set-ups is necessary to establish a well proven biomechanical model of whiplash and whiplash related biomechanical dysfunction. Without this model the value of motion analysis for clinical use will be restricted due to lack of comparable data on sensitivity and specificity although motion analysis of the cervical spine is neither cost- nor time consuming and free of adverse effects. Within a prospective series of 28 patients (14 m/14 f) with a follow-up to six weeks we were lucky to describe numerically two different types of reaction to low energy (delta v < 20 km/h) rear end collision: Type I with disturbances in complex movements only, Type II with overall restriction of movement. Control of angular velocity during cyclic movements of the head was disturbed by oscillations of higher frequency in all patients. Recovery from whiplash within 6 weeks could be monitored.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of lumbar ortheses with abdominal compression on gastro-oesophageal reflux and gastrointestinal transit. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a prospective study 20 consecutive patients with lumbar syndrome treated with lumbar orthesis (10 female, 10 male, median age 54.6 years) were investigated for gastro-oesophageal reflux, mouth-to-cecum transit time (MCT), and whole-gut transit time. Gastro-oesophageal reflux was assessed performing an ambulatory pH metering of the distal oesophagus over a period of 10 h with and without ortheses on two separate study days. After positioning of the pH catheter patients ingested a liquid-solid test meal labelled with 10 g lactulose and 750 g indigocarmine to determine MCT with the hydrogen breath test and whole-gut transit by the first appearance of indigocarmine in the stool. Dyspepsia was assessed by using a standardized questionnaire. RESULTS: Lumbar ortheses induced a significant increase in reflux time (pH < 4) (8.1 vs 4.1%), total number of reflux episodes (102.5 vs 69.5) and duration of longest reflux episode (6.0 vs 3.7 min) (P < 0.05). 12 patients with ortheses revealed an increase in relative reflux time (2.1-24.5%, median: 8.2%) more than two standard deviations compared to previously obtained normal values. In these patients during ortheses dyspeptic symptoms correlated significantly with reflux time (r = 0.6; P < 0.05). In contrast, MCT and whole-gut transit time in patients with and without ortheses did not differ significantly (85 vs 85 min; 10.2 vs 9.6 h). CONCLUSION: Lumbar ortheses with abdominal compression, nowadays frequently used in the lumbar syndrome, produce gastro-oesophageal reflux associated with dyspepsia. Gastrointestinal transit time is not affected, though.
Injection therapy is highly significant in the treatment of cervical syndromes. Following the differential diagnosis and analysis of the symptoms, injection treatment leads to a worthwhile degree of pain relief as a result of the anaesthetic effect on the nerve. This paper describes the general criteria for such treatment and also the various injection techniques in use.
After making an exact diagnostic verification of tennis elbow and after intensive conservative treatment has been used without any signs of improvement, the Hohmann operative procedure involving the incision of the proximal extensor tendon has distinct advantages as far as the pathophysiological aspects are concerned. This operative treatment can be safely carried out using endoscopy. A normal 30 degrees endoscope, nonelectrolyte fluid, an exploratory probe, and an electrotome are necessary. The procedure is described in detail.
To ascertain the efficiency of different techniques of arthroscopic therapy for gonarthritis and establish the relevance of the extent of chondromalacia, clinical and experimental studies were performed. In principle, the process of chondromalacia determines the course of the disease. Treatment of additional meniscus lesions temporarily leads to better clinical results, but after only a few months the symptoms caused by the arthritic process reappear. Compared with the temporary relief of complaints after debridement and lavage, smoothing with a xenon chloride excimer laser in grade II chondromalacia leads to statistically significantly better clinical results. Scanning electron microscopic studies confirm the extremely good smoothing. These studies permit clear statements as to the various methods of treatment and their application in the different grades of chondromalacia, thus leading to differentiated arthroscopic treatment of degenerative gonarthritis.
Clinical examination still plays an important role in diagnosing meniscal tears. The types of sensitive nerves in the knee joint are responsible for nonspecific pain, which is often correlated with too little specificity in meniscal tests. Ultrasound examination of meniscal structures of the knee joint has been debated extensively in recent years. Criticism of this noninvasive technique was due to small patient groups, improper technical and inaccurate manual standards. Since 1988 ultrasound of the tibial meniscus has become a standard technique in our Department of Orthopaedic Surgery with defined criteria of the intersecting plane and evaluation of ultrasound images. A prospective follow-up study during 6/1988 and 5/1993 including 1186 ultrasound examinations before arthroscopy, was performed. The sensitivity for ultrasound of the lateral meniscus was 58% and for the medial meniscus 83%. Specificity with 98% for the lateral and 90% for the medial meniscus was good. Sonographic detection of meniscal tears depends on the shape and location of meniscal tears. This has been shown by experimental studies in cadavers. A follow-up study including 113 knee joints was performed to prove the value of clinical and ultrasound examination in relation to arthroscopy. The sensitivity of sonography for medial meniscus was 81% and 40% for the lateral meniscus. Although the sensitivity of the clinical examination was 81% (medial) and 47% (lateral), the low specificity of 70% for meniscus tears indicated that it was because of false-positive clinical evaluation of meniscal disorders. In young patients with reflectory muscle spasm and those with acute trauma of the knee joint, clinical examination of the meniscal structures showed poor results. In these cases, too, ultrasound examination showed advantages. Ultrasound of the knee joint meniscus is noninvasive, reproducible and low cost. In cases of uncertain clinical results, ultrasound offers a good opportunity to visualize meniscal disorders.
In this paper we report a case of osteochondral fracture of the lateral tibial pilon. A young man fell while he was playing soccer. In the following months the ankle was swollen and painful. Later the reason for his ankle pain was clearly visible on the X-ray pictures, which revealed a severe osteochondral fracture of the lateral tibial pilon. We describe the arthroscopic and X-ray grading of osteochondral fractures of the ankle and their treatment.
The continuous improvement of intrumentation and equipment is the reason for the steady increase in arthroscopic operations. As the technical equipment is becoming increasingly complicated, attention must be paid to training and standardized procedures in order to ensure that the arthroscopic operative procedure is fast, safe, and without complications. Special operative techniques and instruments have been approved for clinical use, depending on the arthroscopic operation.
One important step in lumbar discotomy is the safe penetration and exact partial removal of the Lig. flavum. This is a crucial prerequisite for the selective and gentle removal of prolapsed and sequestrated intervertebral disc tissue. Extensive lancing of the Lig. flavum should be avoided, to minimize intraoperative and postoperative complications, such as injuries to the nerves and the Dura mater, instabilities, bleeding and scarring. As there has up to now been insufficient information on the anatomy of the Lig. flavum especially regarding microdiscotomy, an analysis of the Ligg. flava L2/L3 to L5/S1, guided by this aim, was carried out on 36 corpses kept in formaline (16 f, 20 m; 52-78 y). Preparations showed the lumbar Ligg. flava to be embodied in the Foramina interarcualia in a characteristic configuration. There also proved to be defined insertion areas on the laminae of the vertebral arches, which must be taken into consideration during the operative exposure. The Lig. flavum rises from the cranial vertebral arch from the ventral surface of the lamina (6.8 mm) whilst the insertion area on the caudal lamina covers the dorsal and the ventral surface. The extent at the ventral surface is 2.2 mm in average. Taking the insertion proportions into account we would suggest the Lig. flavum to be divided as follows: Pars interspinalis, which clearly differs from the Lig. interspinale (and from the M. interspinalis), and which houses venous anastomoses in its dorsal, ridge-shaped extension. Pars interlaminaris, which starts at the laminae and constitutes the target area for flavotomy in its lateral section, and Pars capsularis, which merges into the capsular structures of the facets. In all levels examined, there proved to be dorso-ventrally a typical change in the direction of the course of the fibres in the Pars interlaminaris. Whilst the direction of the fibres dorsally is oriented cranio-medially to caudo-laterally at an angle between 15 degrees and 30 degrees to the median line, the ventral fibres of the Lig. flavum are strictly aligned cranio-caudally. The changes in the directions of the fibres are continuous with the fibres being very closely intertwined, without there being any spatium at all. The texture of the Lig. flavum is, therefore, a mirror image of that of the autochthonuous muscular system of the back, even if the overlapping angle area is considerably smaller. The different segment levels show a segment-specific thickness profile. The analysis has provided anatomic information about the Ligg. flava L2/L3 to L5/S1. These data represent important prerequisites for a selective, gentle and safe intraoperative procedure for discotomy.
For diagnosis of instability in case of ruptures of the lateral ankle joint ligaments a special ultrasound examination technique was established. In 41 patients with acute ruptures and 8 patients with chronic instabilities a prospective preoperative sonographic instability-testing was performed and compared to intraoperative result. A sensitivity of 0.96 for injuries of the lig. fib. tal. ant. and 0.79 for the lig. fib. calc. proves the exactness of this method. This technique is easy to perform and the result can be documented. This examination is accepted by the patients.