This retrospective study investigated the effectiveness and safety of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) for patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP).A total of 72 patients with CLBP were included in this retrospective study. All patients received usual care, and were assigned to a NMES group (n = 36) and a control group (n = 36). In addition, patients in the NMES group also received NMES for a total of 4 weeks. The primary outcome was pain intensity, measured by numerical rating scale (NRS). The secondary outcome was disability, assessed by the Roland–Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), and the Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale (QBPDS). The outcomes were evaluated before and after 4-week treatment.After 4-week treatment, the patients in the NMES group did not show better effectiveness in pain intensity relief, as measured by NRS (P = .11); and disability improvement, as evaluated by the RMDQ (P = .14), and QBPDS (P = .33), when compared with the patients in the control group. Additionally, no adverse events related to the NNES were recorded.The results of this study did not show promising effectiveness of NMES for patients with CLBP after 4-week treatment.
Additive manufacturing has been used in complex spinal surgical planning since the 1990s and is now increasingly utilized to produce surgical guides, templates, and more recently customized implants. Surgeons report beneficial impacts using additively manufactured biomodels as pre-operative planning aids as it generally provides a better representation of the patient’s anatomy than on-screen viewing of computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Furthermore, it has proven to be very beneficial in surgical training and in explaining complex deformity and surgical plans to patients/ parents. This paper reviews the historical perspective, current use, and future directions in using additive manufacturing in complex spinal surgery cases. This review reflects the authors’ opinion of where the field is moving in light of the current literature. Despite the reported benefits of additive manufacturing for surgical planning in recent years, it remains a high niche market. This review raises the question as to why the use of this technology has not progressed more rapidly despite the reported advantages – decreased operating time, decreased radiation exposure to patients intraoperatively, improved overall surgical outcomes, pre-operative implant selection, as well as being an excellent communication aid for all medical and surgical team members. Increasingly, the greatest benefits of additive manufacturing technology in spinal surgery are customdesigned drill guides, templates for pedicle screw placement, and customized patient-specific implants. In view of these applications, additive manufacturing technology could potentially revolutionize health care in the near future.
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