Chronic orthopedic problems in the young athlete

The young athlete presents problems for the doctor in sports medicine that are not present in the senior high school or older athlete. Growth spurts, sexual development and altered life standards all play their part. The parents, their goals for their children, the coaches and the milieu in which the young athlete lives must influence the physician in his decisions regarding this athlete.

Spondylolisthesis following lumbar disc surgery in a child. Case report

✓ The case of a 13-year-old boy with a gelatinous, herniated lumbar intervertebral disc is reported. Roentgenographic examination 8 years following laminectomy demonstrated spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis of L-5 on S-1. Related case reports and theories are tabulated and discussed.

Low back pain in men receiving workmen's compensation

In Ontario, only about 10% of compensation patients with low back pain are disabled more than six weeks and hence tend to have chronic complaints. Six hundred and twenty-three such patients were studied to determine the distribution of diagnoses and to test the effectiveness of various programs of conservative therapy.Two hundred and thirteen patients were assigned in rotation to one of four treatments. The results were inconclusive. In 70% of these, the pain was due to intervertebral disc degeneration with added trauma.Two hundred and sixteen patients were assigned randomly to a treatment involving mild exercise, or one with vigorous exercise. Neither was found to be superior. In 76% of these, the pain was due to disc degeneration with added trauma.Using 194 patients, the results of treatment in the Compensation Board Rehabilitation Centre were compared with those obtained by treatment at home. Satisfactory improvement was achieved in 15 of 95 treated at home, and in 42 of 99 in the Centre. The failure of treatment in six of each 10 cases indicates that present-day methods of management of such patients are unsatisfactory.