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Biomedical subjects

V Mooney

Publications and source records attributed to V Mooney.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

A test to measure lift capacity of physically impaired adults. Part 2--Reactivity in a patient sample.

STUDY DESIGN: Test reactivity is the based on the idea that experience with a test may affect performance on subsequent tests, independent of what the test purports to measure. The reactivity of a test of lift capacity was studied in a single-blind randomized clinical trial was studied in a single-blind randomized clinical trial in which subjects were assigned to one or two groups. One group received lift testing before and after a therapeutic trial, while the other group received lift testing only at the conclusion of the therapeutic trial. OBJECTIVE: To measure the reactivity of a lift capacity test over the course of treatment. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: The reactivity of a test is an important criterion by which an outcome measure must be judged. Change in response to treatment is assumed to be independent of changes resulting from the evaluee's experience with the test, although this is rarely addressed. METHODS: The EPIC Lift Capacity test was administered to 55 patients with low back pain in a treatment program after they were randomized into a pre-test/post-test and a post-test only group. Additional measures were taken on a pre-test/post-test basis for all subjects. RESULTS: Analyses of variance demonstrated no difference between the randomized groups after treatment. However, the pre-test/post-test group demonstrated significant improvement over the course of treatment. Other measures of outcome were similarly affected. CONCLUSION: The reactivity of the EPIC Lift Capacity test was negligible over an 8-week treatment regimen that did not include lifting tasks.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The effect of lumbar belts on isolated lumbar muscle. Strength and dynamic capacity.

STUDY DESIGN: This study analyzed the effect of lumbar support belts on functional performance. OBJECTIVE: To compare lumbar muscle strength and lifting capacity with and without a lumbar belt. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Industrialized settings have begun to encourage the use of lumbar support belts for their employees. It is believed that the belts may decrease the risk of injury and enhance the functional performance of the individual. METHODS: Twenty-two subjects (average age, 27.5 years) were tested on four separate days to evaluate the effect of a commercially available belt on isolated lumbar isometric strength and functional dynamic lifting capacity. All subjects had no history of low back problems. The order of testing with and without a belt was randomized for both conditions. On the first 2 days, subjects performed a seven-angle isometric lumbar extension strength test, 1 day with and 1 day without a lumbar belt. On the following 2 days, subjects were tested to evaluate functional capacity with and without a lumbar belt. The functional capacity evaluation was performed by progressively lifting weighted canisters from various levels. Heart rates were monitored to ensure that a maximum effort was achieved over the different days. RESULTS: T tests revealed that isometric lumbar strength and functional lifting capacity was not significantly affected by the belt. CONCLUSION: The use of a lumbar belt does not enhance isometric lumbar muscle strength or dynamic lifting capacity.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Trunk strength testing in patient evaluation and treatment.

A wide variety of trunk strength testing devices has been developed, the goal being to quantify back strength, patient effort, and spinal function or dysfunction. Although the idea of applying quantitative values to spine function is appealing, controversy exists regarding the reliability and validity of these testing systems. In this issue, two experienced investigators give their opinions as to the values and pitfalls of lumbar trunk strength testing, and provide insight into the most appropriate applications of these often costly systems.

Back Pain↗
PubMed1994

Development of the Hispanic Low Back Pain Symptom Check List.

STUDY DESIGN: The Low Back Pain Symptom Check List identifies psychological disturbance in patients with low back pain. This report traces the development of a translation for Hispanic populations. OBJECTIVE: The study explores the reliability and assesses the equivalence of the translation in providing pain and psychological information. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: A number of psychometric measures appear suitable for routinely assessing psychological disturbance among back injured patients. Unfortunately, there are few measures with language translations that can be applied to Hispanic populations. METHODS: In study 1, the English form was translated by two bilingual physicians. In study 2, reliability was examined using Cronbach's measure of internal consistency. In study 3, the equivalence of the Hispanic and English forms in predicting treatment outcome was examined. RESULTS: Coefficient alphas and mean pain scores were similar for the English and Hispanic forms. Overall agreement between the two forms in tracking psychological disturbance was 91%. The Hispanic form was equally accurate in predicting treatment outcome. CONCLUSIONS: The Hispanic form is reliable and provides pain and psychological information much like the English form.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Should we go soft?

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Disability Evaluation↗
PubMed1993

Biochemical changes associated with the symptomatic human intervertebral disk.

Significant changes in disk biochemistry were evident in the nuclei pulposi of 25 symptomatic disks that demonstrated abnormal diskography. Compared with the results from ten normal disk from young subjects (mean age, ten years) and from ten asymptomatic disks from adult patients (mean age, 33 years), the symptomatic disks demonstrated significantly greater collagen content than the young and asymptomatic adult subjects, respectively. Significantly fewer total glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and significantly less water content were also evident for the diseased disks. The mean pH of the nucleus pulposus from 23 patients was also significantly reduced for the symptomatic disks as compared with the mean pH measured for four asymptomatic adult subjects. Although significantly fewer total GAGs were observed for the symptomatic disks, there were no significant differences in the percent composition of hyaluronic acid (HA), chondroitin sulfate (CS), or keratan sulfate (KS) among the normal and symptomatic disks. Significant changes in disk biochemistry are associated with the symptomatic disk, and these changes could contribute to the development of the painful disk syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

A randomized double-blind trial of dextrose-glycerine-phenol injections for chronic, low back pain.

This randomized clinical trial evaluated the efficacy of injections of a dextrose-glycerine-phenol connective tissue proliferant into the posterior ligaments, fascia, and joint capsules to treat chronic low back pain. Seventy-nine patients with chronic low back pain that had failed to respond to previous conservative care were randomly assigned to receive a double-blind series of six injections at weekly intervals of either Xylocaine/saline solution or Xylocaine/proliferant into the posterior sacroiliac and interspinous ligaments, fascia, and joint capsules of the low back from L4 to the sacrum. Patients were observed with a visual analog, disability, and pain grid scores, and with objective computerized triaxial tests of lumbar function for 6 months following conclusion of injections. Pretreatment imaging tests with either magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) scans were performed in all patients. Thirty of the 39 patients randomly assigned to the proliferant group achieved a 50% or greater diminution in pain or disability scores at 6 months compared to 21 of 40 in the group receiving lidocaine (p = 0.042). Subjective parameters measured at 6 months posttreatment improved (p < 0.001) overall in both the treatment and control group compared to baseline. Improvements in visual analog (p = 0.056), disability (p = 0.068), and pain grid scores (p = 0.025) were greater in the proliferant group. Objective testing of range of motion, isometric strength, and velocity of movement showed significant improvements in both groups following treatment but did not favor either group. The MRI and CT scans showed significant abnormalities in both groups, but these did not correlate with subjective complaints and were not predictive of response to treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Effect of smoking and pulsed electromagnetic fields on intradiscal pH in rabbits.

The adverse effect of cigarette smoking on human spines has been noted indirectly. There is correlation of increased back pain among individuals who smoke heavily. The hypothesis of this study was that an environment of cigarette smoking is an adverse event and will create a reduced pH in the rabbit intervertebral disc. Electromagnetic fields, however, can defend against this adverse event and reduce the tendency toward acidic pH. Rabbits were exposed to cigarette smoke for 2, 4, or 6 weeks and their intradiscal pH measured. Cigarette-smoke-exposed discs demonstrated a consistently lower pH than did the discs of the machine control rabbits. The second group of rabbits were exposed to cigarette smoke and pulsed electromagnetic fields. The cigarette-smoke-exposed rabbits that were exposed to the pulsed electromagnetic fields for 4 hr/day demonstrated no change in their intradiscal pH, in contrast to those who were exposed to smoke alone. In conclusion, cigarette smoke exposure in rabbits consistently produces a lower intradiscal pH and pulsed electromagnetic fields can defend against this adverse effect.

Acidosis↗
PubMed1992

Effect of instructions on isokinetic trunk strength testing variability, reliability, absolute value, and predictive validity.

Although isokinetic strength testing has been in use for more than two decades, and numerous studies have addressed isokinetic performance of the lumbar spine, the effect of instructions on isokinetic trunk strength has not been studied. In a sample of 30 healthy women, this study examined the effect of "high-demand" instructions on lumbar strength performance. High-demand instructions were found to have a substantial positive effect on performance variability, reliability, absolute magnitude, and validity. Under these conditions, isokinetic trunk strength was found to be predictive of performance in a frequent lifting-lowering task.

Adult↗