• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.173-179
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• 2022

Disabilities can emerge due to traumatic spinal fractures. In terms of sacrococcygeal spine, because of its unique anatomic structure with minimal movement, the possibility for it to have a disability is relatively low. In Korea, unlike most disability criteria, private insurance companies acknowledge angular deformities caused by vertebral fractures as disabilities according to their degree, so there were several cases where patients required compensation, arguing angular deformity caused by sacrococcygeal fracture, which in some cases led to legal conflicts. Except the Act Welfare of Persons with Disabilities which recognizes only severe angular deformity affecting internal organs as disability and the industrial accident disability evaluation which does not recognize coccygeal fracture as disability but rarely recognizes sacral vertebra deformity equivalent to compressive deformation, there is little or no case where angular deformity is recognized as disability. Given the impairment evaluation standards in social insurance, McBride system, American Medical Association (AMA) guides, and newly proposed standards by the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (KAMS), the most contentious point in the general terms and conditions of private insurance is spinal deformity. To overcome controversy over disability evaluation, the private insurance sector is now applying criteria for axial skeleton to sacrococcygeal vertebrae through revision of standards. Under these circumstances, it is fair to recognize sacrococcygeal fracture as impairment in terms of the pelvis only when the fracture leaves serious deformity and neurological symptoms with clear relevancy. Though it may not be easy to develop accurate disability evaluation standards, improvement is necessary to remove any irrationalities and make the standards as objective as possible.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.88-96
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• 2022

Objective: Purpose of this study was to compare muscle activity ratio of multifidus to erector spinalis according to various cueing including tactile stimulation to provide an effective strategy to provide verbal and tactile feedback during exercise to provoke multifidus muscle activation. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Participants of this study included 28 healthy adults. Muscle activities of the multifidus and erector spinalis were measured while the participants performed tasks according to the three different methods of verbal cueing and three different tactile stimulation. Surface EMG was used to measure the muscular activity of the muscles during all the tasks. Results: Tactile stimulation to abdomen and lumbar vertebrae showed no significant difference in the muscle activity ratio (p>0.05). However, muscle activity ratio of the multifidus in relation to the erector spinalis was increased when subjects were given verbal instructions to make lumbar curvature with little force and to make lumbar curvature while pulling navel (p<0.05). However, it was decreased when they were provided with verbal instruction to make lumbar curvature with strong force (p<0.05). Conclusions: According to the results, proper verbal instruction was an effective tool to increase the muscular activity of multifidus. This study aimed to find and provide the most appropriate verbal cueing while doing exercises to activate multifidus.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.13.1-13.5
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• 2022

Cutaneous lymphoma is rare in cats. An 11-year-old spayed female Persian cat presented with crust, ulceration, and multiple nodules on the shoulder and forelimb for 2 months. Computed tomography revealed a diffuse, irregularly margined lesion in the dorsal cutis extending from cervical to thoracic vertebrae. Cytological evaluation predominantly revealed large round cells with multilobulated nuclei and basophilic cytoplasm. Histopathological examination confirmed round CD3+/PAX5-cells packed in the dermis. Thus, the diagnosis of non-epitheliotropic cutaneous lymphoma with a diffuse large T-cell type was made. The disease progressed rapidly for the next 2 weeks, and the owner elected humane euthanasia.

• Clinical Pain
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.133-137
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• 2020

Bertolotti's syndrome (BS) is a disease that should be differentiated from low back pain (LBP) in young patients. BS shows an anatomical abnormality in which elongated transverse processes of the last lumbar vertebra articulate or fuse with varying degrees to the sacrum or ilium according to radiologic findings, which is associated with the clinical feature of LBP or radiating pain. In this case report, we describe various clinical features such as a waddling gait with severe foot and triceps surae muscle pain, in addition to the typical symptom of BS such as LBP. We report the various clinical symptoms and treatment progress in this case and review the literature.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.519-524
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• 2021

Meningitis after spinal surgery occurs rarely but can be fatal. A 49-year-old male was diagnosed with compressive myelopathy due to cervical disc herniation at the C 5, 6 level and underwent anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). He complained of severe neck pain and stiffness with fever postoperatively and one week after surgery, the patient presented with abrupt tetraplegia. The follow-up magnetic resonance imaging and cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed bacterial meningitis complicated by myelitis. The patient was treated with antibiotics and steroid, but the outcome was poor. The authors report a case of meningitis combined with myelitis following anterior cervical spinal surgery.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.38-43
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• 2023

This study compared the degree of disc degeneration of intervertebral disc between normal disc and disc disease using Magnetic Resonance images of tholacolumbar and lumbar vertebrae in dogs. The sample population consisted of 72 dogs and 188 intervertebral discs. These dogs were divided into four groups according to MRI criteria: normal, disc protrusion, disc extrusion, and fibrocartilaginous embolism. The Pfirrmann classification developed by Pfirrmann for use in human medicine was used to assess the degree of disc degeneration. Statistical analysis revealed that disc diseases had a significant difference in the degree of disc degeneration compared to normal discs in the intervertebral disc. Fibrocartilaginous embolism was found to have a relatively low disc degenerative change compared to two other disc disease groups, disc protrusion and disc extrusion. Disc degeneration in the disc extrusion group was slightly higher than that in the disc protrusion group, although the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.242-252
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• 2023

Background: Neck pain is a common problem in the general population and second only to low back pain in musculoskeletal problems. The aim of this study is to compare three different types of exercise training in patients with chronic neck pain. Methods: This study was conducted on 45 patients with neck pain. Patients were divided into 3 groups: Group 1 (conventional treatment), Group 2 (conventional treatment plus deep cervical flexor training), and Group 3 (conventional treatment plus stabilization of the neck and core region). The exercise programs were applied for four weeks, three days a week. The demographic data, pain intensity (verbal numeric pain scale), posture (Reedco's posture scale), cervical range of motion ([ROM] goniometer), and disability (Neck Disability Index [NDI]) were evaluated. Results: In all groups, a significant improvement was found in terms of pain, posture, ROM, and NDI values in all groups (P < 0.001). Between the groups, analyses showed that the pain and posture improved more in Group 3, while the ROM and NDI improved more in Group 2. Conclusions: In addition to conventional treatment, applying core stabilization exercises or deep cervical flexor muscle training to patients with neck pain may be more effective in reducing pain and disability and increasing ROM than conventional treatment alone.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2024

This review examined and analyzed clinical research trends in the treatment of compression fractures in traditional Korean medicine using case studies. Accordingly, 5 web databases were searched using relevant Korean and English terms. Based on predefined exclusion and inclusion criteria, 16 case studies were selected, analyzed, and classified according to the journal, publication year, participants, chief complaints, affected vertebrae, treatment and evaluation methods, and improvement. The case studies reported various treatment methods, including acupuncture, herbal medicine, physical therapy, cupping, moxibustion, and band training. All 16 case studies reported the use of combination therapy. All 23 cases reported in these case studies demonstrated improvement in chief complaints, and none reported any side effects.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2024

The intervertebral disc is a crucial structure located between each vertebral body, except C1 and C2 and the fused sacral vertebrae, which provides cushioning and stability. However, sometimes these discs may bulge or extrude, causing painful conditions and various neurological problems such as ataxia, paresis, motor or sensorimotor paralysis. As a result, dogs affected by intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) can suffer a significant decrease in their quality of life. The main objective of this study was to provide comprehensive data on the body size of several IVDD-susceptible dog breeds commonly bred in South Korea, which could help develop supportive devices for IVDD patients. Using standardized measurements, the study aimed to design appropriate support tools, taking into account the mobility challenges faced by IVDD patients. The findings provide valuable data to improve the quality of life of patients with IVDD. In addition, it may lay the foundation for research to establish the correlation between body size and IVDD through future research.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.153-168
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• 2024

Morphological and skeletal development in the cultured threeline grunt Parapristipoma trilineatum was studied from 1.96 to 61.39 mm notochord length (NL) or standard length (SL) specimens (n=360). After two days post-hatching (dph, 2.13 mm NL), the mouth opened, and melanophores formed in the eyes and egg yolk were absorbed. Oli globules were absorbed at 3 dph (2.71 mm NL). The total number of fin rays reached that of adults at 28 dph (10.58 mm SL). During skeletal development, the premaxillaray, dentary, opercle, preopercle, and cleithrum first began to ossify at 6 dph (3.51 mm NL). Ossification of all skeletal elements was completed at 28 dph (14.57 mm SL). The vertebrae began to ossify at 17 dph (5.63 mm SL) and were completed at 28 dph (8.48 mm SL), progressing from cranium to caudal bone. The centrum ossified from the dorsal to ventral direction. Vertebral fusion and separation were found to be common skeletal abnormalities.