Month: November 2022

Home, Research Summaries

Journey into the lumbar spine | A primer on neuroanatomy

The nerve roots supplying the lumbosacral region originate from the lumbosacral part of the spinal cord and terminate in the conus medullaris, the cone-shaped lower end of the spinal cord. The tip of conus medullaris is often located at approximately the L1–2 intervertebral level, but it may end as high as T12–L1 or as low as L2–3. Therefore, the lower lumbar and sacral nerve roots … Continue reading Journey into the lumbar spine | A primer on neuroanatomy

Abd El-Rahman TahaLeave a comment
Diagnostic Skills

Diagnostic Efficiency

The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve is a measure of diagnostic efficiency, which is obtained by graphically plotting a series of true positive rates (sensitivity) against false positive rates (1 – specificity) for a binary outcome system. The ROC curve is a method to visualize the performance of a test with binary outcomes (+ / -) graphically. The area under the ROC (AUROC) curve is equal to the … Continue reading Diagnostic Efficiency

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Home, Research Summaries

Spinal Manipulation and mobilization in the right direction: part 1

Many physiotherapists find it challenging to determine the direction in which the spine should be mobilized or manipulated in patients with painful radiculopathies. There are 2 methods to detect the correct direction, the first one is using the H-reflex method described by Mohamed Sabahhi (1-5), another one is using pre-manipulative (vascular screening and repeated movement) testing described by Robin McKenzie (6-8). Both are good clinical … Continue reading Spinal Manipulation and mobilization in the right direction: part 1

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Home, Research Summaries

Self treatment programs: a problem with patients non-compliance

Patient management refers to the organization, supervision, and implementation of the strategies to be applied for the successful education and treatment of patients. Our ability to communicate well with the patient is a vital component of clinical interaction. Patients wish to have both: – an understanding of the problem, and – to know what they might do to help themselves. When self-treatment programs are discussed, … Continue reading Self treatment programs: a problem with patients non-compliance

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Diagnostic Skills

Post-test Probability

Post-test probability: is the probability of the presence of a disease after a confirmatory diagnostic test. Method I:  Let us estimate post-test probability by hand calculation using the data from the study by Capra et al (1). To do this, we need to know the pre-test probability and the positive likelihood ratio values. For this purpose, let us assume the pre-test probability as 0.55. And, we will … Continue reading Post-test Probability

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