Biomedical subjects

Eythor Kristjansson

Publications and source records attributed to Eythor Kristjansson.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

A new clinical test for cervicocephalic kinesthetic sensibility: "the fly".

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the reliability and discriminative ability of a new test designed to detect accuracy of neck movements. DESIGN: Repeated-measures. Case-control. SETTING: University musculoskeletal research clinic in Iceland. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty women (mean age +/- standard deviation [SD], 30.8+/-9.1 y; range, 18-49 y) with chronic whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) grades I and II (duration, 6 mo-6 y), with current pain score on a visual analog scale of 46.8+/-21.8, and a disability score on the Northwick Park Neck Pain Disability Index of 45%+/-14%. Twenty asymptomatic women (mean age +/- SD, 29.3+/-8.6 y; range, 18-48 y) with no history of whiplash or insidious onset neck pain served as controls. INTERVENTION: A slowly moving object appeared on a computer screen and traced an unpredictable movement path that the subjects were required to follow by moving their heads. Three randomly ordered movement patterns were tested. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: A new software program connected to a 3Space Fastrak system was used to measure the mean absolute error (in millimeters) of 3 trials in each movement pattern. RESULTS: The mean differences (+/-2 SD) between days 1 and 2 were.01+/-.64 mm for the asymptomatic group and.33+/-1.80 mm for the WAD group. The between-day intraclass correlation coefficients were between.60 and.77 for the asymptomatic group and.79 and.86 for the WAD group. Repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed a significant difference between groups (P=.02). The Tukey post hoc test showed significant between-group differences for each movement pattern (P</=.05). In each successive trial, a slight improvement for the asymptomatic group and a slight worsening for the WAD group were detected. CONCLUSIONS: Better reliability was detected for the asymptomatic group than for the WAD group. The test could discriminate between the asymptomatic group versus the chronic WAD group.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Reliability of ultrasonography for the cervical multifidus muscle in asymptomatic and symptomatic subjects.

A test-retest and inter-tester study was designed to assess the reliability of ultrasonography to depict the size of the cervical multifidus muscle in asymptomatic and symptomatic subjects. Ten asymptomatic women (range 19-48 years) and 10 women with chronic whiplash associated disorder (WAD), grade II, (range 19-49 years), matched for height and weight participated. The women were imaged by ultrasonography on two separate occasions by two different testers. On each occasion the cross-sectional area (CSA), and the transverse versus the anterior-posterior dimensions (shape ratio) at the C4 level were measured. The repeated measurements of the CSA were plotted against their means to reveal the limit of agreement. Good agreement was found for the asymptomatic group measurements and the intra-tester agreement for the symptomatic group. The inter-tester agreement for the symptomatic group was questionable. The size of the multifidus muscle was significantly reduced in the symptomatic group ( P<0.05 ). The results indicate that loss of clarity of the fascial layer between the semispinalis cervicis muscle and the cervical multifidus muscle may be a diagnostic sign of muscle atrophy. Ultrasonography can be used to precisely measure the size of the cervical multifidus muscle at the C4-level in asymptomatic young female subjects; it is also reliable for symptomatic subjects if the same tester performs the measurements. Additional criteria are recommended to improve the inter-tester agreement for symptomatic subjects.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Increased sagittal plane segmental motion in the lower cervical spine in women with chronic whiplash-associated disorders, grades I-II: a case-control study using a new measurement protocol.

STUDY DESIGN: Case-control study comparing sagittal plane segmental motion in women (n = 34) with chronic whiplash-associated disorders, Grades I-II, with women (n = 35) with chronic insidious onset neck pain and with a normal database of sagittal plane rotational and translational motion. OBJECTIVE: To reveal whether women with chronic whiplash-associated disorders, Grades I-II, demonstrate evidence of abnormal segmental motions in the cervical spine. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: It is hypothesized that unphysiological spinal motion experienced during an automobile accident may result in a persistent disturbance of segmental motion. It is not known whether patients with chronic whiplash-associated disorders differ from patients with chronic insidious onset neck pain with respect to segmental mobility. METHODS: Lateral radiographic views were taken in assisted maximal flexion and extension. A new measurement protocol determined rotational and translational motions of segments C3-C4 and C5-C6 with high precision. Segmental motion was compared with normal data as well as among groups. RESULTS: In the whiplash-associated disorders group, the C3-C4 and C4-C5 segments showed significantly increased rotational motions. Translational motions within each segment revealed a significant deviation from normal at the C3-C4 segment in the whiplash-associated disorders and insidious onset neck pain groups and at the C5-C6 segment in the whiplash-associated disorders group. Significantly more women in the whiplash-associated disorders group (35.3%) had abnormal increased segmental motions compared to the insidious onset neck pain group (8.6%) when both the rotational and the translational parameters were analyzed. When the translational parameter was analyzed separately, no significant difference was found between groups, or 17.6% (whiplash-associated disorders group) and 8.6% (insidious onset neck pain group), respectively. CONCLUSION: Hypermobility in the lower cervical spine segments in 12 out of 34 patients with chronic whiplash-associated disorders in this study point to injury caused by the accident. This subgroup, identified by the new radiographic protocol, might need a specific therapeutic intervention.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

A study of five cervicocephalic relocation tests in three different subject groups.

OBJECTIVE: To compare head relocation accuracy in traumatic (whiplash), insidious onset neck pain patients and asymptomatic subjects when targeting a natural head posture (NHP) and complex predetermined positions. DESIGN: A case-control study. SETTING: University-based musculoskeletal research clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-three volunteers divided into three groups of similar gender and age: Group 1 (n = 21) an asymptomatic group; group 2 (n = 20) insidious onset neck pain; group 3 (n = 22) a history of whiplash injury. INTERVENTION: Five randomly ordered tests designed to detect relocation accuracy of the head. OUTCOME MEASURES: A 3-Space Fastrak system measured the mean absolute relocation error of three trials of each relocation test. RESULTS: A significant difference was found between groups in one of the tests targeting the NHP (p = 0.001). Post-hoc pairwise comparisons revealed a significant difference (p < or = 0.05) between the asymptomatic group and each symptomatic group. The difference between the symptomatic groups just failed to reach significance (p = 0.07). None of the other four tests revealed significant differences. CONCLUSION: The test of targeting the NHP indicates that relocation inaccuracy exists in patients with neck pain with a trend to suggest that the deficit may be greater in whiplash patients. Tests employing unfamiliar postures or more complex movement were not successful in differentiating subject groups.

Adolescent↗