Back pain is a common complaint of women during pregnancy. It is frequently dismissed as trivial and inevitable. This article gives an overview of recent research on pregnancy-related back pain that documents the impact of this pain on women's lives, during and beyond the childbearing year. It argues for a more active approach to the prevention and management of back pain during pregnancy. Two ...

BACKGROUND Variation in referral rates for physical therapy exists at both the individual physician and practice levels. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of physician and practice characteristics on referral for physical therapy in patients with traumatic lower-extremity injury. DESIGN A cross-sectional survey was conducted. METHODS In 2007, a Web-based sur...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the degree of agreement between primary care physicians and rheumatologists when evaluating the referral criteria in patients with suspected early spondyloarthropathy (Spa). MATERIAL AND METHODS Patients with suspected early Spa (according to predefined clinical referral criteria) were sent by primary care physicians to early Spa units (where a rheumatologist evaluated t...

OBJECTIVE Residual air spaces on chest radiographs after pneumothorax surgery are not uncommon. We aimed to study their incidence and impact on surgical outcomes. METHODS Four hundred and twenty-seven patients [283 men and 144 women with a median age of 31 (14-96) years] underwent surgery for pneumothorax from 1995 to 2005 in a single unit. Video-assisted thoracoscopy was used in 225 cases (5...

We present a 26-year-old athlete with severe low back pain associated with a fracture of a lumbar pedicle and contralateral spondylolysis. The difficulties of diagnosis are discussed together with the subject of segmental pain referral. A technique of operative management is described involving instrumentation of the symptomatic level alone.

Two cases are described in which cardiac ischemia presented with pain confined to the ear. In both cases the correct diagnosis was missed and treatment delayed. Angina and myocardial infarction may present with pain in the ear due to referral via the vagus nerve.

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a disorder characterised by pain, sensory and motor disturbances and represents a significant medical entity. This report discusses two cases of CRPS in children and adolescents, highlighting several critical issues for clinicians in the diagnosis and management of CRPS in these populations. Early diagnosis, referral and appropriate intervention are esse...

A 19-year-old female presented with bilateral severe loin pain associated with recurrent macroscopic haematuria. A provisional diagnosis of loin pain haematuria syndrome was made; the severity and frequency of pain led to referral to the pain management service. Alternative diagnoses were considered. Although previous reports of obstruction of the left renal vein have not described pain of this...