Biomedical subjects

J McMeeken

Publications and source records attributed to J McMeeken.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

The experience of back pain in young Australians.

The usual activity level and history of low back pain was determined by questionnaire in 614 young Australians (9-27 years); dancers (25%), gymnasts (5%) and a control group who did not participate in dance or gymnastics for > or =6 hours/week during the previous three months (70%). These groups demonstrated significantly different activity levels (dancers >gymnasts >controls). Of all respondents, 34% experienced pain of more than two days duration in the previous year, and 50% in all previous years. The incidence and magnitude of pain in the previous year was significantly greater in the dancers and gymnasts (P<0.05) compared to the controls. The incidence of pain was not linked to the average total hours of activity until this exceeded 30 hours per week. There was no significant difference in the incidence of pain in the previous year between control group respondents who did and did not undertake regular activity. The average hours of activity per incident was approximately 20 hours for the dancers and approximately 5 hours for the other groups. This study has demonstrated that back pain in active and inactive adolescents presents a significant challenge for health-care practitioners involved in the management and prevention of symptomatic spinal disorders.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Body image and psychological well-being in pregnancy. A comparison of exercisers and non-exercisers.

This study compared the perceptions of body image and psychological well-being between exercising and non-exercising pregnant women. A prospective longitudinal study was conducted with 65 nulliparous women (mean age years = 30.3, range = 23-39) who were allocated to 2 groups based on level of recreational exercise participation; 25 exercisers were compared with 18 non-exercisers. A self-report exercise history questionnaire and a 10 item Body Cathexis Scale were completed on two occasions during the pregnancy, at approximately 17 weeks and 30 weeks of gestation. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) was administered in late pregnancy. There was a significant difference between the exercise group and the non-exercise group in late pregnancy for some items on the Body Cathexis Scale. The exercise group had a lower level of probable caseness on the GHQ-28 with reduced frequency of somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, and a higher level of psychological well-being.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Pain and hyperalgesia in osteoarthritis of the hands.

OBJECTIVE: Tissue damage and pain can lead to a change in the stimulus/response characteristics of the nociceptive system. Hyperalgesia has been described in experimental pain states and some clinical conditions, but has not been investigated in osteoarthritis (OA). We sought to establish the presence of hyperalgesia at the thumb in subjects with OA of the hand and to explore any relationship between sensitivity to extrinsic stimuli and the experience of clinical pain. METHODS: Subjects with OA of the hand were divided into groups according to their pain profile. The sample also included pain-free OA cases and pain-free controls. Intensity ratings were obtained for each of 3 types of pain: continuous pain, incident pain, and movement pain. Thermal and mechanical detection and pain thresholds were measured over the forearm and the carpometacarpal joint of the thumb. RESULTS: Lower thermal and mechanical pain thresholds were evident over the thumb relative to forearm in the groups with persistent pain. Subjects complaining only of incident pain, pain-free OA cases, and pain-free controls did not exhibit regional differences in sensitivity to thermal and mechanical stimuli. Increased ratings of continuous pain were associated with lower thermal and mechanical pain thresholds. Variance in movement pain ratings was predicted by mechanical forearm pain thresholds. CONCLUSION: OA in the hands is associated with cutaneous and deep hyperalgesia to thermal and mechanical stimuli. Increased levels of continuous pain are associated with more pronounced hyperalgesia. The associations of movement pain suggest the contribution of central mechanisms in the stimulus/response changes accompanying movement pain.

Aged↗

PubMed1999

The effects of knee extensor and flexor muscle training on the timed-up-and-go test in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Rheumatoid arthritis frequently results in functional impairment. This study investigated the effect of a specific exercise regimen on function. METHOD: A randomized controlled assessor-blinded (N = 36) compared the effect of knee extensor and flexor muscle training on pain, the timed up and go (TUG) test and the Health Assessment Questionnaire in subjects with non-acute rheumatoid arthritis. RESULTS: Knee extensor and flexor muscle training increased isokinetic torques at speeds of 60 degrees/sec-1 and 120 degrees/sec-1 as measured by an isokinetic dynamometer (p = 0.02-0.003). The experimental group experienced a reduction in pain (p = 0.03), an improvement in TUG time (p = 0.01) and in function as measured by the Health Assessment Questionnaire (p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Specific knee muscle training can be administered safely in people with non-acute rheumatoid arthritis, and may produce functional benefits.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1997

Hip and ankle range of motion in elite classical ballet dancers and controls.

OBJECTIVE: To report range of motion at the hip and ankle in male and female ballet dancers compared with controls. DESIGN: Cross-sectional cohort study with convenience control sample. SETTING: National classical ballet school in Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-three female and 30 male full-time ballet students of mean (SD) age 16.9 (0.8) and 18.0 (1.4) years, respectively. Controls were 31 female and 16 male nondancing, normally active university students of average ages 18.8 +/- 0.6 and 18.8 +/- 0.9 years, respectively. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Degrees of range of motion of left and right sides for the following four movements: standing plié in parallel-passive ankle dorsiflexion (DF), standing turnout in the balletic first position-lower limb external rotation (LLER), supine hip external rotation (ER), supine hip internal rotation (IR). Two additional ranges of motion were calculated. External rotation below the hip joint (BHER) was derived by subtracting hip ER from LLER, and total supine hip rotation (Hip IR + ER) was derived by summing hip ER and hip IR. MAIN RESULTS: On both left and right sides, dancers had greater LLER (p < 0.0001) and hip ER (p < 0.0001) but lesser hip IR than the controls (p < 0.0001). Female but not male dancers had greater total supine hip rotation (hip ER+IR) than controls (p < 0.05). There was no difference in either BHER or ankle DF between dancers and controls. Within dancers, females had greater range in both left and right hip IR, LLER, and hip IR + ER. There was no difference in hip ER. Regression analysis revealed that LLER related to hip ER in both males and females. CONCLUSIONS: Elite classical dance students had greater hip external rotation (both ER and LLER) and less hip internal rotation than controls but similar BHER and ankle DF. Since ER below the hip joint and ankle DF do not differ between dancers and controls, despite repeated training of these movements in ballet, there may be anatomical (bony/ligamentous) limitations to these movements.

Ankle Joint↗

PubMed1995

A video-based version of the pendulum test: technique and normal response.

The pendulum test, where the leg is dropped and the knee allowed to swing passively in the manner of a pendulum, has been recognized as a reliable and potentially valuable measure of hypertonia. In this study the traditional form of the test, where a goniometer is attached to the leg, has been replaced by a procedure involving computerized video motion analysis. Using 77 control subjects, a battery of 10 amplitude and time-based measures were obtained for purposes of investigating reliable and valid indicators of the damped, unsustained, oscillatory motion that characterizes this test. The results from the control subjects were congruous with those obtained by other workers using the goniometric version of the test. The measures of the response considered in this study showed evidence of increasing resistance to pendular passive joint motion with advancing age. Retest reliability of pendulum test responses in 14 subjects examined on average 26.8 days apart, produced Intraclass Correlation (2,1) values for the entire pendulum test response of an average of 0.84. It is concluded that the video-based pendulum test is a simple reliable source of measures with considerable potential for the clinical and physiological investigation of neurological and nonneurological features of normal and abnormal passive joint motion, and as a standard against which the effects of therapeutic intervention, such as medication, may be evaluated.

Adolescent↗