BACKGROUND Almost one third of women suffer continuous lower back pain during labour. Evidence from three systematic reviews demonstrates that sterile water injections (SWI) provide statistically and clinically significant pain relief in women experiencing continuous lower back pain during labour. The most effective technique to administer SWI is yet to be determined. Therefore, the aim of this...

Large posterior upper trunk defects can be challenging to reconstruct. Trapezius or latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flaps are principally utilized for reconstruction; however, some defects may not be amenable to this standard approach. Here, we describe a patient with a full-thickness skin and subcutaneous tissue loss of the upper back and inferior cervical region after dermatofibrosarcoma protub...

A. Failed back surgery syndrome with low back pain and significant radicular pain; or B. Complex regional pain syndrome (also known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy); or C. Inoperable chronic ischemic limb pain secondary to peripheral vascular disease; or D. Last resort treatment of moderate to severe (5 or more on a 10-point VAS scale) chronic neuropathic pain of certain origins (i.e., lumbosac...

A 26-year-old Indian lady was admitted for lower abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, fever and cough. The initial diagnosis was that of peritonitis secondary to ruptured or perforated viscus with lobar pneumonia. On laparotomy, she was found to have necrotizing or Kikuchi's lymphadenitis of the abdominal lymph nodes. The initial two antinuclear antibody (ANA) results came back negative. She wa...

The formation of spinal epidural abscess following acupuncture is very rare. We herein report the case of a 54-year-old woman who presented with progressive low back pain and fever with a root sign. She underwent surgical decompression, with an immediate improvement of the low back pain. A culture of the epidural abscess grew Serratia marcescens. One year postoperatively, magnetic resonance ima...

An extensive review of the literature showed that trauma is the most common cause of pneumocephalus. Most often the trauma involves the frontoethmoidal or other air sinuses. Three types of injuries are frequently described to be responsible for pneumocephalus: (1) automobile accidents, (2) motorcycle accidents, and (3) missile injuries. A thorough review of the literature revealed that there is...

Introduction: Spine boards (back boards) have been used for transporting and stabilizing accident victims for many years. This method of transport is universally accepted and generally considered safe. However, there have been numerous reports of secondary injury incurred using these boards for prolonged periods of time. It has been shown that the average length of time a patient spends on a sp...

Background Research shows that the prevalence of lower back (LBP) pain is high among rowers [1,2]. Previous methods of data collection on LBP in the Australia Rowing Team (ART) do not allow for comparison against other rowing populations. The purpose of this study was to collect the current prevalence of LBP across senior elite Australian rowers at one point in time, using methods comparable to...