Biomedical subjects

J Pentti

Publications and source records attributed to J Pentti.

41 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1992

Spinal mobility and trunk muscle strength in 15-year-old schoolchildren with and without low-back pain.

From a population of 1,503 schoolchildren, 38 15-year-old children suffering from low-back pain and 38 asymptomatic controls were selected for testing of spinal mobility and trunk muscle strength. The asymptomatic controls were matched by age, sex, and school class. In the group with recurrent or continual low-back pain (17 boys and 21 girls), the boys were over 4 cm taller than those in the control group. In both sexes sagittal mobility was decreased in lumbar extension and straight leg raising, and increased in lumbar flexion. Endurance strength in the abdominal and back muscles was decreased compared to the control pupils, who reported no back pain at all in the questionnaire collected 1 year before the testing procedure. The pupils reporting sciatica (n = 7) at some time, in addition to recurrent low-back pain, had decreased lumbar flexion and side bending compared to those with recurrent low-back pain (n = 31) without sciatica. The results of the study indicated that in this growing-age population there was a subgroup with recurrent low-back pain having a different spinal mobility pattern as well as decreased trunk muscle strength.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Low back pain and disability in 14-year-old schoolchildren.

In this cross-sectional prevalence study in 1503 14-year-old Finnish schoolchildren (n = 1503) low back pain was found to be the third most common form of pain interfering with schoolwork or leisure time during the past 12 months. The lifetime cumulative incidence of low back pain was 30% and that of sciatica 1.8%. Of the 417 pupils who had experienced low back pain at some time, 39% had suffered during the past month; 65% recovered in one month from the last pain episode, while 35.2% of those reporting disabling low back pain during the past year were aware of recurrent or continual pain. Thus, 7.8% (n = 107) of the whole population could be classified as "low back pain chronics": 86% of the low back pain chronics had trouble with at least one of the daily activities listed, most commonly with sitting at school. Excluding pain in the extremities or sciatica, girls reported various pains more commonly than boys. Moreover, girls reporting recurrent low back pain had more trouble with their daily activities due to pain than boys (p < 0.001), even though the recovery from the last pain episode took the same time in boys and girls. The pupils who had had sciatica at some time, in addition to recurrent low back pain, had more trouble with the 10 daily activities than others with recurrent low back pain (p = 0.014).

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1992

Is there need for change of health examinations for sea pilots?

Sea pilots must be capable of carrying out their work in all situations. Thus, they must not have any disease or defect, that could impair their job performance. By periodic medical examinations attempts are made to ensure their working capacity. In most countries these examinations are carried out by a general practitioner and they include only few if any objective laboratory tests. The aim of the present investigation was to study the effectiveness of the periodic medical examinations to find out in the population of pilots examined persons with health risks, especially risks for cardiovascular diseases. All the pilots examined were over 45 years old (n = 135, response rate 88%). Self-evaluation of health was carried out by a questionnaire. Blood analyses were made and chest X-ray as well as exercise-ECC were taken. The most common subjective symptoms concerned musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal systems; sleep disturbances were also quite common. The three most frequent diseases diagnosed earlier by a doctor were musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal diseases, and arterial hypertension. About 24% of pilots had a lower physical working capacity than predicted. The body mass index indicated at least 11% overweight in half of the cases. At exercise-ECG four pilots appeared to have an ischaemic heart disease and additionally eleven pilots had abnormal ECG. Over 80% of pilots had a serum cholesterol value higher than 5 mmol/l, and serum triglyceride values exceeded the normal value of 2.0 mmol/l in every fourth case. Serum glutamyl transaminase was pathological in over 20% of the cases, and serum glucose level in 8%. The findings by routine physical examinations were very few consisting of stiffness in musculoskeletal system, two cases of elevated blood pressure, two heart murmurs, varicose veins etc. In two cases an inguinal hernia was suspected. The current periodic health examinations does not seem to effectively prevent a person with possible health defect from working as a sea pilot. More objective tests must be included in these examinations and more attention should be paid to prevention of overweight, effective treatment of musculoskeletal symptoms, improving physical working capacity and helping pilots to manage their psychic stress.

Body Mass Index↗

PubMed1991

Tenderness and pain in neck and shoulders in relation to Type A behaviour.

158 males employees in the metal industry, aged 35-44 years, were examined to determine the prevalence of tenderness and pain in the neck and shoulders. Type A behaviour was assessed by a series of 16 questions. One or more tender sites were found in 30% and more than three in 7% of the examined employees. Tenderness was twice as common among those with interview-based pain in the past 12 months (40%) as among those without pain (23%). Those with tenderness on palpation more often had a type A behaviour than those without tenderness (p = 0.010). The association was modified by pain but not by occupation. One explanation for the association between tenderness and behaviour might be that type A personality is associated with increased muscle activity in the neck and shoulders leading to muscular fatigue and tenderness.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Reproducibility of nine tests to measure spinal mobility and trunk muscle strength.

The reproducibility of nine back function tests suitable for use in the occupational health service was determined in 30 male employees. The correlation of three tests made with a tape measure--forward bending, modified Schober, and side bending--was high in both intra- and inter-observer comparisons (r = 0.82-0.96). Immediate repetition of the testing procedure improved the performance in the forward and side bending tests. The reproducibility was also good for the tests of dynamic (K = 0.57-0.78) and endurance (r = 0.90-0.96) strength of the abdominal muscles and quite good for the test of endurance strength of the back muscles (r = 0.74-0.80). The differences between the examiners must be taken into account in the modified Schober test, and in testing the flexibility of the hip flexors and hamstrings and the endurance strength of the back muscles.

Adult↗