Dental personnel had an increased risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders as verified by symptoms and diagnoses and more painful or persistent conditions. This led to a selection out of work. The questionnaire and the present pain rating gave a relatively good picture of the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders arising from the neck, shoulders, and hips and would be useful as screening tools. Their sensitivity in detecting disorders was higher for diagnoses than for findings. However, these methods were not as sensitive for disorders involving the elbows/wrists/hands. Physical examinations gave more detailed information.

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Proprioception of the knee was measured in 20 patients with reconstructed anterior cruciate ligaments and in 19 age-matched controls. The mean time from surgery was 2 years. Three tests of proprioception were used: (a) threshold to detection of passive motion from 20 and 40 degrees toward flexion and extension, (b) active reproduction of a 30 degrees passive angle change, and (c) visual reproduction of a 30 degrees passive angle change. The aim was a complete, bilateral, proprioceptive evaluation of patients who had undergone reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament. As compared with those in the control group, the knees with reconstructed anterior cruciate ligaments had a higher threshold to detection of passive motion in the extension trials from 20 and 40 degrees (p = 0.0003 and 0.04, respectively) and in the flexion trials from 20 and 40 degrees (p = 0.004 and 0.0008, respectively). When the uninjured knees of the patients were compared with those in the control group, higher values for threshold to detection of passive motion were found in the flexion trials from 20 degrees (p = 0.002) and 40 degrees (p = 0.02). Thus, decreased proprioceptive ability was present in some measurements of these patients after reconstructive surgery, not only in injured knees but also in uninjured knees, as compared with the reference group. The functional relevance of these findings was not investigated in this study, but the results suggest that bilateral proprioceptive considerations should be made when evaluating prognostic factors, treatment, and risk of contralateral knee injury in patients with reconstructed anterior cruciate ligaments.

Stabilometry is a technique designed to register postural equilibrium control. This investigation used a computerized strain gauge force plate to measure sway movements in the frontal plane with the patient standing on one leg. Fifty-five young healthy individuals were studied as a reference group and to determine the reproducibility of the method. The clinical population consisted of 14 patients with unilateral injuries to the lateral ligaments of the ankle. These were measured, both with and without an ankle brace. The different parameters used to describe the body sway could well discriminate between the injured and the uninjured leg. When the brace was used the effect was obvious and none of the parameters showed any significant difference compared to the uninjured leg.

This prospective, randomised study compares the efficacy of surgery, physiotherapy and cervical collar with respect to pain, motor weakness and sensory loss in 81 patients with long-lasting cervical radiculopathy corresponding to a nerve root that was significantly compressed by spondylotic encroachment, with or without an additional bulging disk, as verified by MRI or CT-myelography. Pain intensity was registered on a visual analogue scale (VAS), muscle strength was measured by a hand-held dynamometer, Vigorometer and pinchometer. Sensory loss and paraesthesia were recorded. The measurements were performed before treatment (control 1), 4 months after the start of treatment (control 2) and after a further 12 months (control 3). A healthy control group was used for comparison and to test the reliability of the muscle-strength measurements. The study found that before start of treatment the groups were uniform with respect to pain, motor weakness and sensory loss. At control 2 the surgery group reported less pain, less sensory loss and had better muscle strength, measured as the ratio of the affected side to the non-affected side, compared to the two conservative treatment groups. After a further year (control 3), there were no differences in pain intensity, sensory loss or paraesthesia between the groups. An improvement in muscle strengths, measured as the ratio of the affected to the non-affected side, was seen in the surgery group compared to the physiotherapy group in wrist extension, elbow extension, shoulder abduction and internal rotation, but there were no differences in the ratios between the collar group and the other treatment groups. With respect to absolute muscle strength of the affected sides, there were no differences at control 1. At control 2, the surgery group performed somewhat better than the two other groups but at control 3 there were no differences between the groups. We conclude that pain intensity, muscle weakness and sensory loss can be expected to improve within a few months after surgery, while slow improvement with conservative treatments and recurrent symptoms in the surgery group make the 1-year results about equal.

Calf muscle fatigue has a short-lasting effect on body balance, with measurements indicating a change in postural control strategy. Different tools and variables are needed to identify different balance control strategies. The procedures used in the present study may be modified to identify subjects with inadequate capacity to choose between balance control strategies; they are also applicable in clinical settings outside a laboratory environment.

Dentists are exposed to high load on the trapezius muscles bilaterally, and steep, prolonged forward bending of the head. Further, for the wrists the postures were constrained, but the dynamic demands were low.

Body sway movements in the frontal plane in a single-limbed stance test were used to assess postural control in 26 patients with chronic anterior cruciate ligament insufficiency. The injured and the noninjured legs were tested before the patients were committed to physiotherapy for 3 to 6 months. Follow-up tests were made after 3, 12, and 36 months. Significant disturbance of the balance of both legs was found before training, compared with a reference group of normal subjects. Values of the noninjured leg were normalized after 3 months of training, but the injured leg still showed an increased body sway. Normal balance parameters on the injured side were found at examination after 12 months. Follow-up examination after 36 months proved persistent normalization of the single-limbed balance on both sides.