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Background and Objective: Muscle size is considered to be a good indicator of muscle function. Previous studies demonstrated a major role for longus colli muscle in cervical spine stabilization. This study was designed to compare muscle size and shape of cervical longus colli muscle between patients with bilateral chronic neck pain and healthy subjects. Materials and Methods: In this case – control study, bilateral ultrasound images of longus colli muscle, 2 centimeters below the thyroid cartilage were taken in 20 subjects (10 males and 10 females) with bilateral chronic neck pain and in 20 healthy subjects during 2008. Cross sectional area (cm2) and muscle shape ratio (ratio between lateral and anterior posterior dimensions) were measured. T- test was used for comparison of cross sectional area and shape ratio of right and left sides between the two groups. Results: In healthy subjects the cross sectional area of longus colli muscle in right and left sides were 0.85±0.11 and 0.86±0.12 respectively which was greater than that of neck pain patients: 0.76±0.11 and 0.68±0.07 respectively (P<0.05). In addition, longus colli muscle shape ratio of healthy subjects in right and left sides was 1.18±0.17 and 1.16±0.19 respectively which was smaller than that of neck pain patients: 1.50±0.25 and 1.50±0.27 respectively (P<0.05). Conclusion: This study showd that patients with bilateral chronic neck pain had generally smaller cross sectional area and larger shape ratio of longus colli compared to controls.

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Background and Objective: Car accidents are one of the most common causes of traumatic mental disorders. This study was done to evaluate the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in patients with lumbar spinal dislocation fractures caused by road accidents.
Methods: This case-control study was performed on 100 patients with lumbar spine dislocation fractures due to road accidents. After the seventh day, they were admitted to the orthopedic and trauma wards of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Sari. It was done six months after hospitalization. Data collected from 100 non-injured individuals using the Marmar and Weiss Revised Event Impact Questionnaire (Impact of Event Scale - Revised: IES-R) were compared.
Results: There was no statistically significant relationship between PTSD and age, sex, marital status, education of the two groups. In all subscales related to the effect of the event, ie avoidance, disturbing thoughts, and over stimulation indices, the mean score of the participants in the case group was significantly higher than the mean scores of the individuals in the control group (P<0.05). The mean in case group was significantly higher than the mean in the control group (P<0.05).
Conclusion: The results of this study indicate the important role of road accidents in the formation of PTSD symptoms.