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Biomedical subjects

L P Warren

Publications and source records attributed to L P Warren.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Effect of soft lumbar support belt on abdominal oblique muscle activity in nonimpaired adults during squat lifting.

STUDY DESIGN: A counterbalanced repeated measures design. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of a soft lumbar support on abdominal oblique muscle electromyography (EMG) during lifting. BACKGROUND: Use of a soft lumbar back support is a common preventive measure to reduce the incidence of back injuries. Because the abdominal oblique muscles stabilize the spine during lifting, wearing this support may alter the activity level of these muscles. METHODS AND MEASURES: Twenty nonimpaired subjects (14 women and 6 men, mean age 28.9 +/- 8.1 years) were tested using surface electrodes to record the EMG of the right abdominal oblique muscles during lifting with and without the support. RESULTS: A paired t test revealed a significant decrease in activity of the abdominal oblique muscles during lifting with the support (29.7 +/- 3.13 mV) compared to without it (33.3 +/- 3.05 mV). Of the 20 subjects, the 14 women showed decreased EMG amplitude during the lift with the lumbar support compared to without the support, while 5 of the men showed increased EMG amplitude with the support and 1 man showed no change. CONCLUSION: This finding suggests that the soft lumbar support may play some role in the stabilization of the lumbar region during lifting.

Abdominal Muscles↗

Percutaneous cholecystostomy: anatomic considerations.

In 100 consecutive patients undergoing abdominal computed tomography, the anatomic relationships among the gallbladder fundus, liver, and right hemicolon were evaluated to assess the feasibility of direct transperitoneal versus percutaneous transhepatic cholecystostomy. In only 17% of patients was there no interposition of colon or liver between the skin and the gallbladder fundus. In 13% of patients the right hemicolon lay between the gallbladder fundus and skin. In the remaining 70% of patients, the gallbladder fundus was positioned posterior to the liver margin. Thus, in 83% of patients studied, percutaneous cholecystostomy would necessitate a transhepatic approach.

Catheterization↗

Neuroimaging of scuba diving injuries to the CNS.

Diving accidents related to barotrauma constitute a unique subset of ischemic insults to the CNS. Victims may demonstrate components of arterial gas embolism, which has a propensity for cerebral involvement, and/or decompression sickness, with primarily spinal cord involvement. Fourteen patients with diving-related barotrauma were studied with MR imaging of the brain and spinal cord and with CT of the brain. In four patients with presumed cerebral gas embolism, cranial MR was abnormal in three patients while CT was abnormal in only one. Twelve patients had decompression sickness and spinal cord symptoms. MR documented spinal cord abnormalities in three patients. However, scans obtained early in our study were frequently limited by technical constraints. MR of the brain is more sensitive than conventional CT scanning techniques in detecting and characterizing foci of cerebral ischemia caused by embolic barotrauma to the CNS. Although spinal MR may be less successful in the localization of spinal cord lesions related to decompression sickness, these lesions were previously undetectable by other neuroimaging methods.

Adolescent↗