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Biomedical subjects

C F Murray-Leslie

Publications and source records attributed to C F Murray-Leslie.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1977

The knees and ankles in sport and veteran military parachutists.

112 actively parachuting sport (free fall) parachutists with more than 200 descents each and 109 veteran military parachutists no longer active returned a postal questionnaire about their parachuting activities, injuries, and current and past musculoskeletal symptoms. A high frequency of fractures and injuries was reported by each group, both in relation to parachuting and to other activities. 58 sport parachutists aged 23 to 57 years (mean 33 - 3 years) had weight-bearing anteroposterior and lateral radiographs taken of each knee. These showed a prevalence of radiological osteoarthrosis of 10 - 4% which was mild in degree in all but one knee in one subject. 46 ex-military parachutists aged 50 to 70 years (mean 55 - 2 years) had weight-bearing anteroposterior radiographs taken of both knees and showed a prevalence of radiological osteroarthrosis of 41 - 3%. Moderate and severe changes were found in 10 - 9%. In both groups of parachutists six of the eight knee joints showing either moderate or severe radiological osteroarthrosis had been subjected to a previous meniscectomy. Forty ex-military parachutists had anteroposterior radiographs of the ankles (talotibial articulation) and showed a prevalence of osteoarthrosis of 17 - 5%, with the majority showing mild changes. There was a poor correlation between radiological osteoarthrosis, ankle symptoms, and previous fractures. With the reservation that the great majority of the sport group are still young (95% aged less than 50 years), it is concluded that parachutists as a group do not show an increased prevalence of radiological osteoarthrosis of the knee or ankle.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

The spine in sport and veteran military parachutists.

Spinal injuries and symptoms were studied in 109 ex-military parachutists and 112 sport (free fall) parachutists by means of postal questionnaires. 46 ex-military parachutists aged 50 years or over had a radiological examination of the lumbar spine and 58 sport parachutists had a radiological examination of the cervical spine as part of the survey. A history of back pain was significantly (P<0.01) associated with body weight in sport parachutists but not with the number of descents or with the subject's age. In the older ex-military group neither age, weight, nor the number of descents was significantly associated with backache. Of those ex-military parachutists x-rayed, 10 (21.7%) were found to have vertebral body fractures (most frequently at D12), and 8 of these were unaware of these lesions. Vertebral fractures caused no disability and did not permanently curtail parachuting activities in either the sport or ex-military group. Of the ex-military parachutists x-rayed, 84.7% had lumbar disc degeneration of all grades of severity, 17.4% had moderate changes, and 10.8% had severe changes. The frequency of moderate and severe disc degeneration was significantly related to age but not to body weight or to the number of descents. Spondylolysis was found in 2 subjects (4.3%) and spondylolisthesis unassociated with spondylolysis in 4 (8.7%). Spondylolisthesis was always associated with a history of back pain.A low prevalence of radiological cervical intervertebral disc degeneration of all grades of severity of 8.7% was found among the free fall parachutists (mean age 33 years). 2 cases of cervical vertebral body fracture were seen, one related to a parachute landing injury and the other to a parachute opening injury. This study does not implicate parachuting as a cause of intervertebral disc degeneration, either cervical or lumbar, nor as a cause of spondylolysis or spondylolisthesis. Serious long-term disability from pain appears to be uncommon among parachutists despite the frequency of the spinal trauma they sustain.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Carpal tunnel syndrome, humeral epicondylitis, and the cervical spine: a study of clinical and dimensional relations.

Forty-three patients with idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome, confirmed by nerve conduction studies and treated by surgery, were compared clinically and radiologically with 43 age- and sex-matched control patients. Patients with carpal tunnel syndrome had a significantly greater prevalence of lateral humeral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) (33%) than controls (7%). Randomised reading of the cervical spine radiographs in ignorance of the groups to which they belonged showed no significant difference in the prevalence of either intervertebral disc degeneration or intraforaminal osteophyte protruion using conventional grading methods. Measurement of the minimum anteroposterior diameter of the cervical spinal canal, the anteroposterior diameters of the cervical vertebral bodies, and the ratio of intervertebral disc height to adjacent vertebral body height in the cervical spine, however, showed a consistent trend to smaller measurements in the carpal tunnel group. Differences were significant at several vertebral levels in each of these dimensions. The narrowing of the intervertebral discs relative to the vertebral bodies in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome may indicate connective tissue changes, which might also occur in the common extensor origin at the elbow or in the contents of the carpal tunnel.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome↗