Impairment of the dynamic control of the lumbopelvic complex in LBP has gained increased focus both clinically and experimentally. The objectives of this study were to determine the reliability of inclinometry as a measure of dynamic lumbopelvic control. Lumbopelvic reposition accuracy during pelvic tilts was measured in 39 healthy subjects using an inclinometer attached to the skin at S2 level. The reposition accuracy was measured in sitting, standing and supported standing. Tests were performed three times with a 20 min recess between tests. Only data from the last two test sequences were used in order to account for learning effects. Intraclass correlation coefficients were low for the sitting (0.54) and supported standing positions (0.36). In the standing position, a significant difference between test and retest was observed (P = 0.003) and further reliability analysis was therefore abandoned. It is concluded that inclinometry is not reliable for measuring the dynamic lumbopelvic control in any of the test positions and prior work utilising inclinometry to evaluate dynamic lumbopelvic control should be interpreted with caution.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze whether fibromyalgia (FM) and FM-like symptoms are related to an increased incidence of cancer.

METHODS: We identified 1361 patients referred on suspicion of FM in the period 1984-99 from hospital records. Following the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria, patients were divided into subgroups with and without confirmed FM. The cohort was followed to the end of 1999 and linked to the files of the Danish Cancer Register. Site-specific standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were calculated.

RESULTS: We found no association between FM and cancer in 1132 female patients with confirmed FM at our institution (SIR 1.2, 95% CI 0.8-1.8). In 106 women referred for muscle pain and/or tenderness who did not meet the criteria for FM, an increased overall SIR was observed (SIR 2.5, 95% CI 1.2-4.6), with increased risk for breast cancer (SIR 4.8, 95% CI 1.6-11.3) and lymphatic and hematological cancers (SIR 10.6, 95% CI 1.2-38.2). There were 4 lung cancers in 84 men with confirmed FM (SIR 12.6, 95% CI 3.4-32.4).

CONCLUSION: Neither confirmed FM nor those without confirmed FM predicted cancer. An increased risk of breast cancer was found among those who did not meet the ACR criteria for FM. These patients should be investigated if they develop any new or warning symptoms of malignancy, and treating physicians should be vigilant with screening procedures such as mammography.

Smoking is the most important risk factor for morbidity and mortality in hospital patients. Patient contact with the healthcare system should include smoking cessation counselling. Emergency admissions are seldom given this opportunity. Objective: The aim of the study was to illustrate the implementation of motivational counselling in a department of acute surgery.