Abstract-

Background: Backache is a national, personal and clinical problem. It is experienced by most of the population at some time and is a drain on the nation’s resources. Personally, it is distressing because it can remain a major unresolved dilemma and clinically it poses challenges in diagnosis and treatment.Methods: The present cross sectional study was conducted among 200 patients presenting with chronic low back pain, in the OPD of Post Graduate Department of Orthopaedics, Govt. Medical College, Jammu over a period of one year from November 2006 to October 2007.Results: The average age of patients was 38.39 years with slight male predominance. Majority of the patients were non-sedentary workers. In majority of the cases (58%), duration of low backache was from 3 months to 1 year with the average of 25.8 months (2.158 years). The commonest mode of presentation was low back pain with radiation to lower limbs. Seasonal variation in the intensity of pain was observed in 50% of the cases. Tenderness of the spine was the commonest physical sign. Disc degenerative disease was found to be commonest cause of low backache, being present in 72% of the cases.Conclusions: Low back pain is common in 3rd and 4th decade of life. The commonest mode of presentation was low back pain with radiation to lower limbs. Disc degenerative disease was found to be commonest cause of low backache, being present in 72% of the cases.

Background: Hand injuries are very common in this industrialized world. Significant number of patients report every day to the emergency department with various patterns of hand injuries. It is important to understand these patterns in order to plan proper management and develop safety protocols aimed at preventing these injuries.Methods: The present cross sectional study was conducted among 150 patients presenting with Open hand injuries, in the OPD and emergency of Post Graduate Department of Orthopaedics, Government Medical College, Jammu over a period of one year from January 2010 to December 2010.Results: Out of 150 cases 131(87.33%) were males and 19 (12.67%) were females. The commonest age group affected was 21-30 years (34%) followed by 11-20 years (23%). Maximum injuries 90 (60%) occurred in the time interval from 4 pm to midnight. Majority of patients 67 (45%) sustained injury while at work.  Occupation-wise 37 (25%) patients were unskilled workers, mainly laborers, 35 (23%) were farmers, while the remainder belonged to various other professions. In this series machine injuries, assault and road traffic accidents accounted for most injuries, representing 61 (41%), 25 (17%) and 16 (11%) patients respectively. Traumatic amputation (30%) was the most common injury. The index (21%) and middle (21%) fingers were involved more commonly. Tendon injuries (31%) were more frequent than compound fractures (23%).  Conclusions: Hand trauma predominantly affects young males who have occupational exposure to different machines. A proper understanding of the pattern of injury will help in better management.

Background: Backcare education administered in a group situation is one of the most effective and economic methods of treating back pain. It is based on available scientific knowledge of the physiology and mechanics of the spinal structures and their relationship to daily activities. It provides the patient with a better understanding of the problem, aiming primarily at helping the patient take responsibility for his or her back pain, while relieving pain and functional disability.Methods: This study was carried out on 100 patients of chronic low back pain, attending the OPD of Post Graduate Department of Orthopaedics, Government Medical College Jammu for a period of one year. Assessment was carried out before the treatment and after the treatment at four weeks, three months & six months post treatment. The following scales were used to measure the therapeutic response: the Modified Oswestry low back pain disability index, Visual analogue score (VAS), and clinical parameters like finger to floor distance and straight leg raising.Results: The patients showed significant improvement at 1 month, 3 months and 6 months post treatment when compared to base-line data (p<0.001).Conclusions: It was concluded that all chronic low back pain patients would benefit from a group program of back care education.

Background: Osteoporosis is a major public health problem, associated with substantial morbidity and socio-economic burden. The objective of the present study was to screen the general population for osteoporosis in a rural area of Jammu region. Methods: 3 screening camps were conducted at 6 monthly intervals between the time period 2015-2016, at the Accidental Hospital, Chowki Choura, which is a rural area of district Jammu, J&K. A total of 270 subjects in the age group 20 to 80 years were subjected to screening through BMD measurements using calcaneal QUS and they were analyzed on the basis of T-scores. Results: Out of 270 subjects, 120 were males and 150 were females. Among 120 males, 68 were in the age group of 20 - 49 years, and 52 were above 50 years. In the age group 20-49 years, 26 males (38.2%) had osteopenia, and 4 (5.9%) had osteoporosis. In males above 50 years of age, 35 (67.3%) had osteopenia and 6 (11.5%) had osteoporosis. Out of 150 females, 94 were in the age groups 20-49 years, and 56 were above 50 years of age. In the age group 20-49 years, 51 females (54.3%) had osteopenia and 12 (12.8%) had osteoporosis. In females above 50 years of age, 32 (57.1%) had osteopenia and 15 (26.8%) had osteoporosis. Conclusions: The overall prevalence of osteoporosis among screened population was 13.7%. It increased with age in both males and females; however the prevalence of osteoporosis was more among females as compared to males (18% vs. 8.3% respectively).

initiation and 65% thereafter for AF and 53% and 59% respectively for VTE. There was a positive relationship between number of visits during initiation and the number of subsequent visits (correlation coefficient (r)ϭ0.29) and a negative relationship between number of visits and TTR during both initiation (rϭ-0.3) and maintenance (rϭ-0.35). CONCLUSIONS: Increasing number of anticoagulation visits was associated with reduced time in range suggesting that despite increased monitoring some patients fail to stay in range. In addition, patients who require frequent visits during the initiation phase continue to do so during maintenance, suggesting that this may be a useful predictor for patients who are likely to be poorly controlled despite high resource use in the longer term and may hence be candidates for alternative means of anticoagulation.

Research has revealed that during the Corona Pandemic almost a thousand single screen theatres shut down for good in India. Meanwhile, a huge surge was seen in the viewership of OTT platforms. Producers who could not release their films in theatres sold their films to OTTs instead; and this trend has continued even in the post-pandemic environ. It is believed that this growth in the popularity of streaming platforms is facilitated by the bolder content that OTTs offer, raising several ethical dilemmas for both viewers and the government over censorship issues. A survey conducted by this researcher amongst more than 350 young students across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh revealed that 47.5% of the respondents (311) go only once a year to watch a film in a cinema hall, while 14.3% do not go to a film theatre at all. On the other hand, among the same set of respondents, 13.2% watch a film every day, 38.5% watch every week and 40.8% every month on an OTT platform. 51.3% of the youth who responded to the survey also revealed that the explicit scenes of nudity and violence in OTT content, does not bother them. There is however also the view shared with this researcher by Jyotsana Garg, an advisory panel member of the Central Board of Film Certification, who says that the present guidelines enacted to regulate OTTs in India are not adequate; as the foul language, nudity and violence in OTT content will negatively impact the youth, and there is a need for greater censorship. The moral compass is obviously divergent between the youth and policy makers. In conclusion, there are contrary ethical standards and many dilemmas surrounding visual representations in the fictional world of cinema and OTT, especially with OTTs showcasing bolder content and threatening the very survival of cinema halls.