Side-to-side Differences (side-to-side + difference)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Side-to-side differences in pressure pain thresholds and pericranial muscle tenderness in strictly unilateral migraine

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 2 2008
C. Fernández-de-las-Peñas
Previous studies dealing with pressure pain sensitivity or muscle tenderness in migraine have shown conflicting results. Our aim was to explore the differences in mechanical pain sensitivity and pericranial muscle tenderness between patients with unilateral migraine and healthy controls, and to analyse side-to-side differences in both study groups. Pressure pain thresholds (PPT) at cephalic and neck points, plus local and total tenderness scores were blindly assessed in 25 patients with strictly unilateral migraine and 25 healthy subjects. For PPT in the neck there were significant differences between groups (F = 47.029; P < 0.001) and sides (F = 6.363; P < 0.01), and a significant interaction between group and side (F = 5.201; P = 0.02), while PPT in the cephalic point showed differences between groups (F = 11.774; P < 0.001), but not sides (F = 2.838; P = 0.1). The total tenderness score showed significant differences between groups (F = 6.800; P < 0.01) and sides (F = 17.699; P < 0.001), along with a significant interaction between group and side (F = 14.420; P < 0.001). Patients had lower PPT and increased pericranial tenderness on the symptomatic side as compared with the non-symptomatic side and to either side in controls (P < 0.001), whereas no significant differences were identified between the non-symptomatic side and controls (P > 0.9). In migraine patients, PPT levels and muscle tenderness scores were negatively correlated (P < 0.001). The enhancement of local tenderness scores was related to hyperesthesia of specific muscles (sternocleidomastoid, suboccipital, and temporalis) rather than a generalized pericranial tenderness. Future studies should investigate the neuro-physiological basis for the laterality of allodynic and hyperalgesic responses in unilateral migraine. [source]


A prospective analysis of incidence and severity of quadriceps inhibition in a consecutive sample of 100 patients with complete acute anterior cruciate ligament rupture

JOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH, Issue 5 2004
Terese L. Chmielewski
Background: Weakness of the quadriceps femoris muscle after anterior cruciate ligament injury and reconstruction has been attributed to incomplete voluntary activation of the muscle. The literature is conflicting on the incidence of incomplete voluntary quadriceps activation after anterior cruciate ligament injury because of differences in testing methods and population biases. The purpose of this study was to systematically examine the incidence and severity of quadriceps voluntary activation failure in both lower extremities after acute anterior cruciate ligament injury. We hypothesized that the incidence of quadriceps inhibition would be higher in the anterior cruciate ligament injured limbs than the uninvolved limbs, that the incidence of inhibition in the anterior cruciate ligament deficient limbs would be larger than in our historical sample of healthy young individuals tested in the same manner and that there would be no difference in inhibition by gender. Study design: Prospective, descriptive. Methods: One hundred consecutive patients with acute anterior cruciate ligament rupture (39 women and 61 men) were tested when range of motion was restored and effusion resolved, an average of 6 weeks after injury. A burst superimposition technique was used to assess quadriceps muscle activation and strength in all patients. Dependent t -tests were used to compare side-to-side differences in quadriceps strength. Independent t -tests were used to compare incidence of activation failure by gender and make comparisons to historical data on young, active individuals. Results: The average involved side quadriceps activation was 0.92, and ranged from 0.60 to 1.00. The incidence of incomplete activation in the involved side quadriceps was 33 per cent and uninvolved side quadriceps was 31 per cent after acute anterior cruciate ligament rupture. The incidence of incomplete activation bilaterally was 21 per cent. There was no difference in incidence of quadriceps inhibition by gender. Conclusion: The incidence of voluntary quadriceps inhibition on the involved side was three times that of uninjured, active young subjects, but the magnitude was not large. The incidence of quadriceps inhibition on the uninjured side was similar to the injured side. Clinical relevance: Both the incidence and magnitude of quadriceps inhibition after ACL rupture are lower than have previously been reported. The conventional wisdom, therefore, that quadriceps inhibition is a significant problem in this population is challenged by the results of this study. Differences between this study and others include sufficient practice to ensure a maximal effort contraction and rigorous inclusion criteria. The findings have implications for strength testing as well as rehabilitation. The quadriceps index, an assessment of the injured side quadriceps strength deficit may be affected by the presence of voluntary activation failure in the uninvolved side. © 2004 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. [source]


Single-bundle posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with remnant preservation: lateral versus medial-sided augmentation technique

ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY, Issue 1 2009
Jin-zhong Zhao MD
Objective:, To compare the results of lateral versus medial-sided augmentation techniques in single-bundle posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) reconstruction with remnant preservation. Methods:, Forty-two cases of isolated chronic PCL ruptures were reconstructed in a single-bundle manner with remnant preservation. The patients were randomly separated into two groups: in the medial-sided augmentation (MSA) group the graft passed through the medial side of the remnant and in the lateral-sided augmentation (LSA) group it passed through the lateral side. Results:, Nineteen patients in the MSA group and 17 in the LSA group were followed up for a minimum of 2 years. At the final follow-up, the average side-to-side differences in posterior laxity were 1.6 ± 1.2 mm and 1.5 ± 1.3 mm respectively in the MSA and LSA groups. According to the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scale, patient numbers graded as normal, nearly normal and abnormal were 14 (73.7%), 4 (21.1%), and 1 (5.3%) in the MSA group, and 13 (76.5%), 3 (17.6%), and 1 (5.9%) in the LSA group. The IKDC subjective scores were 93.1 ± 3.8 and 92.6 ± 4.1, the Lysholm scores were 95.0 ± 4.6 and 93.7 ± 4.2, and the Tegner scores were 5.4 ± 0.9 and 5.6 ± 0.7 respectively in the MSA and LSA groups. Statistical analysis showed no significant differences between the MSA and the LSA group regarding all subjective and objective results. Conclusion:, In single-bundle PCL reconstruction with remnant preservation, similar subjective and objective results can be obtained with MSA and LSA techniques. [source]


Temperament, Tympanum, and Temperature: Four Provisional Studies of the Biobehavioral Correlates of Tympanic Membrane Temperature Asymmetries

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2002
W. Thomas Boyce
Previous research in both humans and nonhuman primates suggests that subtle asymmetries in tympanic membrane (TM) temperatures may be related to aspects of cognition and socioaffective behavior. Such associations could plausibly reflect lateralities in cerebral blood flow that support side-to-side differences in regional cortical activation. Asymmetries in activation of the left and right frontal cortex, for example, are correlates of temperamental differences in child behavior and markers of risk status for affective and anxiety disorders. Tympanic membrane temperatures might thus reflect the neural asymmetries that subserve individual differences in temperament and behavior. This report merged findings from four geographically and demographically distinctive studies, which utilized identical thermometry methods to examine associations between TM temperature asymmetries and biobehavioral attributes of 4- to 8-year-old children (N= 468). The four studies produced shared patterns of associations that linked TM temperature lateralities to individual differences in behavior and socioaffective difficulties. Warmer left TMs were associated with "surgent," affectively positive behaviors, whereas warmer right TMs were related to problematic, affectively negative behaviors. Taken together, these findings suggest that asymmetries in TM temperatures could be associated with behavior problems that signal risk for developmental psychopathology. [source]