Our findings suggest that medical schools may be currently failing to ensure that medical students have a basic competence in musculoskeletal medicine. Further investigation is warranted to fully assess the current training provided by U.K. medical schools in musculoskeletal medicine, and appropriate steps must be taken to improve the quantity and quality of training in musculoskeletal medicine in the United Kingdom.
Abstract-While phantom limb pain is a well-recognized phenomenon, clinical experience has suggested that the augmentation of phantom limb pain with visceral stimulation is an issue for many military personnel with amputation (visceral stimulation being the sensation of the bowel or bladder either filling or evacuating). However, the prevalence of this phenomenon is not known. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of the alteration in phantom limb pain and the effect that visceral stimulation has on phantom limb pain intensity. A crosssectional study of 75 military personnel who have lost one or both lower limbs completed a questionnaire to assess the prevalence of the alteration of phantom limb pain with visceral stimulation. Included in the questionnaire was a pain visual analog scale (VAS) graded from 0 to 10. Patients recorded the presence and intensity of phantom limb pain. They also recorded whether and how this pain altered with a need to micturate or micturition, and/or a need to defecate or defecation, again using a pain VAS. Time since amputation, level of amputation, and medications were also recorded. Patients reported a phantom limb pain prevalence of 85% with a mean VAS of 3.6. In all, 56% of patients reported a change in the severity of phantom limb pain with visceral stimuli. The mean increase in VAS for visceral stimulation was 2.5 +/-1.6 for bladder stimulation and 2.9 +/-2.0 for bowel stimulation. Of the patients questioned, 65% reported an improvement in symptoms over time. VAS scores were highest in the subgroup less than 6 mo postamputation. An increase in phantom limb pain with visceral stimulation is a common problem for military personnel with amputation.
Health and health care in the Soviet Union are drawing special attention during these first years of perestroika, Mikhail Gorbachev's reform of Soviet political and economic life. This report briefly describes the current state of Soviet health and medical care, Gorbachev's plans for reform, and the prospects for success. In recent years the Soviet Union has experienced a rising infant mortality rate and declining life expectancy. The health care system has been increasingly criticized for its uncaring providers, low quality of care, and unequal access. The proposed measures will increase by 50 percent the state's contribution to health care
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.