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Query: UMLS:C0015672 (fatigue)
 51,768 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Two hundred and ninety-five male Finnish concrete reinforcement workers, aged 19 to 64 years and engaged in heavy physical work including prolonged stooping, were radiologically examined by antero-posterior and lateral views of the lumbar spine while they were standing. The findings of lumbar disc degeneration were classified as none, slight, moderate or severe. The prevalence and degree of radiologically detectable lumbar disc degeneration depended strongly on age and increased especially rapidly from 40 to 44 years on. Lumbar disc degeneration showed an age-independent association to both a history of lumbago (chi2 = 10.5, p less than 0.01) and a history of sciatica (chi2 = 11.8, p less than 0.001). When disc degeneration was compared to reports of stiffness, fatigue, ache, and sharp pain in the back during an ordinary workday, no statistically significant associations were found, while disc degeneration was found to be slightly more common (chi2 = 4.6, p less than0.05) in the men reporting back symptoms as they bent down than in the men who did not report such symptoms. No association between length of exposure to static and dynamic back loads in reinforcement work and the prevalence of lumbar disc degeneration could be established, but definite conclusions on the possible effect of reinforcement work on the lumbar spine could not be drawn from the data.
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PMID:Radiologically detectable lumbar disc degeneration in concrete reinforcement workers. 66 71

Exposure to whole-body vibration is a growing concern in industry, traffic and in other branches of the economy. This harmful physical factor endangers work efficiency and human health not only at work but also in everyday life, in public transportation and even at home. In spite of increasing exposure to vibrations, our medical practice does not pay adequate attention to the health effects of whole-body vibration. The paper deals with the basic characteristics of vibration (frequency, amplitude, velocity and acceleration), its adequate evaluation (effective or weighted average value, peak values, rating and weighting procedure of vibration measurement) and exposure (vibration direction, exposure time, transmission and dissipation). In industry and traffic, vibrations present complex oscillatory motions, characterized by a wide frequency spectrum, variable amplitude and acceleration, and different directions. To assess the harmful effects of vibration, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has proposed three standards for acceptable human exposure to whole-body vibration: fatigue-decreased proficiency boundary, exposure limit and reduced comfort boundary. Quantitative parameters of vibration for some vehicles, and for constructional, industrial and agricultural machinery are also given. The most pronounced long-term effect of whole-body vibration is damage to the spine. The spinal region most frequently affected is the lumbar part, where spinal deformation, lumbago and sciatica can develop. The possible cause of spinal damage could be mechanical overload and metabolic changes of the intervertebral disc. Other organ systems, such as peripheral and autonomic nervous, vestibular, vascular, digestive and female reproductive systems are also liable to become affected. Risk assessment of chronic health effects is based on the appropriate evaluation of whole-body vibration exposure and individual response. Health risk increases with the intensity and duration of vibration exposure. The concomitant factors are forced sitting posture and heavy physical work. Human response to whole-body vibration depends on factors promoting the development of degenerative changes such as constitution, previous spine disease and young age. The main problems in diagnosing whole-body vibration syndrome are differentiation of vibration induced disorders from age dependent changes of the spine and lack of a specific diagnostic method for assessing those changes. Therefore, only permanent medical surveillance can guarantee proper assessment of the damage induced by whole-body vibration. For vibration exposed workers preplacement and periodic examinations are recommended. Those should include a basic medical examination and an X-ray of the spine, or at least of its lumbar part.
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PMID:[The effect of whole-body vibration: an unrecognized medical problem]. 831

We report a case of reconstruction of a dysplasic thoracic spine with vascularized fibula in Recklinghausen's disease. We present the case of a thirteen-year-old lady with neurofibromatosis type 1 who developed a dystrophic thoracic kyphoscoliosis. A T9 compression due to a severe scaloping of the thoracic spine caused an important deformation and a medullar compression (with dorsal pain, right sciatica and a pyramidal syndrome). The surgery consisted in medullar liberation by a T9-T10 corporectomy and an osteosynthesis with arthrodesis T3-L3. A free vascularized fibula bone graft, with an end-to-end anastomosis on a thoracic pedicle, was realized to fill the T8-T11 spinal defect. All the symptoms decreased after surgery and the patient could walk normally few months later. At one-year follow-up the radiographs showed a stable montage and a solid bony fusion. Analysing the literature, vascularized bone graft can be recommended to fill the bony spinal defect due to surgery in cases of tumor, infection, trauma or severe scoliosis. Compared to non-vascularized grafts, which are exposed to resorption, fatigue fracture and then instability, the vascularized fibula grafts provide a rapid fusion, a biomechanically stable and long-standing support with low risks of infection.
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PMID:[Use of a vascularized fibula for spinal reconstruction in neurofibromatosis]. 1794 79