Background / Objective: Musculoskeletal disorders have been described as the most notorious and most common causes of severe long-term pain and physical disability that affect millions of people across the world. Occupational driving is associated with a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in long distance bus drivers in Nigeria. Methods: Two hundred and fifty four (254) long distance bus drivers participated in the survey. All participants were male. They completed a structured 30-item questionnaire which collected information on the biodata, period spent on driving, frequency of driving, presence or absence of breaks, types of discomfort experienced, level of pain experienced by the subjects, the parts of the body where these discomforts were experienced and treatment received by subjects to relieve the discomfort. Descriptive statistics of frequency, percentages and inferential statistics of chi-square were used for data analysis. Results: One hundred and eighty three (72%) of the subjects experienced musculoskeletal disorders during the years of driving. Chi-square analysis showed that there was a statistically significant association between years of driving and discomfort in the shoulder (χ²=11.9, p=0.036) and also in the neck (χ²=38.9, p=0.000). There was also a significant association between age and discomfort in the shoulder (χ²=16.7, p=0.002) and between age and discomfort in the neck (χ²=36.4, p=0.000). Conclusion: This study indicated a high level of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among long distance bus drivers in Nigeria. The number of years of driving is a significant factor contributing to the high level of WMSDs. Prolonged sitting is also a major occupational risk factor that predisposes these drivers to WMSDs.

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Background: Dysfunction of discriminative sensation is seldom included in routine assessment of stroke survivors. It is also often assumed that the non-hemiparetic side of stroke survivor has no deficit. Aim: To investigate sensory discriminatory parameters in the upper limbs of stroke survivors and the influence of selected socio-demographic and clinical variables on them. Methods: Participants were selected using purposive sampling technique. Sensory discrimination test parameters that included kinesthesia, topognosis, two-point discrimination and stereognosis were assessed using standard methods. Spearman's correlation co-efficient was used to find the relationship between side of affectation and the sensory parameters and McNemar's test to compare the hemiparetic and non-hemiparetic upper limbs. The level of significant was set at 0.05. Results: Seventy (42 males and 28 females) stroke survivors participated in this study. They were aged 57.8±11.0 years with post-stroke duration of 18.3±19.3 months. Forty-one (58.6%) had right side affectation. Sensory discrimination impairments occurred in 49 (70%) either unilaterally or bilaterally. Thirty-seven (53.1%) had sensory impairment on the non-hemiparetic side. The side of affectation showed significant correlation (p<0.05) with two-point discrimination and stereognosis. There was no significant difference between the hemiparetic and non-hemiparetic upper limbs of the participants for each of the sensory discrimination parameters. Conclusion: The non-hemiparetic side of a stroke survivor exhibits sensory discriminatory impairments in kinesthesia, topognosis, two-point discrimination and stereognosis as the hemiparetic side. Hence, it is highly imperative that sensory discriminatory test should be included in the routine assessment of stroke survivors and their non-hemiparetic side should be given adequate attention during rehabilitation.

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Purpose: To describe the frequency, causes and Visual Outcome of ocular trauma seen in Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos. Study Design: A retrospective study. Methods: The case records of patients referred to Guinness Eye Center in LUTH, with ocular trauma during the last 4 years were reviewed. The age and gender of patients, type of injury, cause of injury, initial and final visual acuity were analyzed. Results: Medical records of 150 patients, aged between 1 and 86 years were reviewed. Ocular trauma occurred mostly in the younger age group (0 – 30 years) and a male preponderance (71.3 %) was evident. Sixty-three percent of patients had late presentation. Closed globe injury accounted for 56% with the fist being the commonest agent of injury (20.7%).The left eye was affected more (50.7%) with both eyes being affected in 6% of cases. Grade II penetrating injury (31.3%) was the commonest Open globe injury with Ruptured globe accounting for 13.4%. Initial visual acuity was found to be a significant predictor of final visual acuity (p<0.001). There was improvement in final visual acuity in both Open and Closed globe injuries. Conclusion: Ocular trauma is a common and avoidable cause of blindness affecting all age groups. Management is challenging and prognosis is unpredictable thus better prevented. Education and safety precautions would help in reducing ocular morbidity.

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Objective: This study investigated the effects of the sole administration of ascorbic acid (AA), intrasound therapy (IRT) and a combination of both on tenocyte proliferation in the early stage of Achilles tendon healing after a crush injury. Methods: Twenty five male rats were divided randomly into five groups: Group 1 animals had no injury and no treatment while the other groups had induced crush injury to the Achilles tendon. Group 2 had no treatment. Group 3 had AA only. Group 4had IRT only while Group 5 animals were treated with a combination of AA and IRT. IRT commenced 24 hours post-injury and was given over 10 days alternate days. AA was given at a dosage of 0.14mg/Kg body weight daily. On the 11th day post injury, the animals were sacrificed and the tendons excised and processed for histological study. Results: The intervention groups (Groups 3-5) were shown to be superior to the control groups (Groups 1 & 2) in terms of tenocyte population (p<0.05).However comparison between the intervention groups shows no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Findings from this study suggest that both ascorbic acid (AA) and intrasound therapy (IRT) administered alone and in combination result in significant tenocyte proliferation and may thus promote tendon healing.

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