Musculoskeletal Stress Markers (MSM) Research Papers (original) (raw)

This research applies the new Coimbra method for therecording of enthesal changes (EC) on a Dutch urban population. The sample consists of 66 individuals buried between 1450 and 1573, at the Franciscan monastery in Alkmaar, the Netherlands. The people buried here were part of the “common” people of Alkmaar.This sample consists of individuals of which the age and sex were estimated, and with no observable pathologies which could affect the enthesal sites. In addition to activity, age and sex could influence EC. It was tried to limit this influence by comparing the individuals in groups of sex and age in some of the tests, therefore limiting the influence of other factors on EC rather than activity. Ten fibrocartilaginous entheseal sites were scored on both upper limbs. After scoring the EC of all individuals, the data was statistically analysed using the program IBM SPSS (Version 23). As expected males, in general, scored higher than females and older individuals generally scored higher than younger individuals. At the subscapularis and the brachioradialis, females scored higher than the males, which could indicate women strained these muscles more than males. The males had a significantly higher EC score at three muscle attachment sites. In addition, there were differences between the sexes in ranks of mean EC scores, and the correlation of certain muscles. These factors do point to a general division of labour between the sexes. When focusing on differences between the age groups, EC in males showed more correlation with age than EC with age in the female population. Six of eight outliers, when looking at the mean EC scores, showed signs of osteoarthrosis, which is seen as an activity related pathology. This, together with the increased EC score indicates that these individuals most likely showed increased activity in comparison with the rest of the population. Lastly, the data presented here was compared with other research. This proved to be difficult, regarding the use of samples from different geographical areas, and time periods, different scoring methods and differences in scored entheseal sites. This shows the necessity for using a standardized scoring method for EC research. This could provide the opportunity to compare more data, generating more knowledge on EC research. This could make EC research into a viable method for osteological research, and providing archaeologist with a tool to reconstruct past activities.

- by Nicholas Passalacqua
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- Forensic Anthropology, Bioarchaeology, Skeletal Biology, Paleopathology

The biomechanics of bone trauma is the application of mechanical laws to describe and interpret damage that occurs to bone. It involves the examination of both the intrinsic and extrinsic factors resulting in bone injury. Knowledge of the biomechanics of bone trauma allows forensic scientists to use bone fractures to deduce the type and direction of loading that caused the bone to fail. The strength of bone is its ability to withstand loads without failing, and is dependent on its material composition, organization, and overall geometry. Loads can be applied in tension, compression, bending, torsion, shear, or a combination of these basic components. These loads cause internal tensile, compressive, and shear stresses on the bone. However, bone is a dynamic composite tissue that exhibits anisotropic and viscoelastic characteristics and will react differently to loads depending on its orientation and the rate at which the force is applied. When more energy is transferred to a bone than it can absorb, the bone will fracture. The type of fracture produced in bone depends on the magnitude, direction, rate, and area of force applied and the structural and material properties of the bone at and near the location of the force.

Un villaggio abbandonato circa cinquecento anni fa, un'indagine antropologica sui resti scheletrici di un uomo vissuto in quel villaggio tra XIV e XV secolo, una proposta metodologica multidisciplinare e interdisciplinare per riflettre su temi, modelli e processi virtuosi di conoscenza e valorizzazione dei beni culturali. Questi gli ingredienti del volume, che presenta i risultati degli studi effettuati da un nutrito e articolato gruppo di ricerca, teso a ricostruire la storia, l'ambiente, i costumi e la società di un centro rurale della Puglia basso medievale nel delicato momento di passaggio tra l'età angioina e l'età aragonese.

- by Sandro Sublimi Saponetti and +13
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- Art History, Medieval History, Stable Isotope Analysis, Bioarchaeology
- by Susan Guise Sheridan and +1
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- Near Eastern Archaeology, Bioarchaeology, Paleopathology, Osteoarchaeology
- by Nicholas Passalacqua
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- Forensic Anthropology, Bioarchaeology, Skeletal Biology, Paleopathology

El objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar las variaciones en la frecuencia de cambios entesiales a través del tiempo en Portugal para evaluar el efecto del aumento de la urbanización y la especialización laboral, aplicando un método de registro biológicamente apropiado, el llamado nuevo método Coimbra (Henderson et al. 2016a). La muestra analizada está compuesta por 138 individuos adultos provenientes de ocho sitios arqueológicos del actual territorio de Portugal, y con cronologías medievales y modernas. Se realizaron cálculos de prevalencias y de odds ratios, así como un test exacto de Fisher para los cambios registrados en once entesis de miembros superiores e inferiores. Los resultados sugieren que la actividad es un factor explicativo de los cambios entesiales registrados, pero que asimismo se deben considerar otros factores, ya que los diferentes perfiles de sexo y edad también contribuyen a las distintas tendencias. Además, el tamaño variable de las muestras de cada subgrupo también aporta a las altas frecuencias de algunos cambios. Sin embargo, este enfoque es fundamental para entender las tendencias temporales de los cambios entesiales.

- by Charlotte Henderson
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- Bioarchaeology, Osteoarcheology, Physical Anthropology, Osteoarchaeology

Changes in subsistence strategy have caused some of the profoundest changes to the structure and health of humans. This study aims to test whether these changes have reduced work-load as assessed by entheseal changes. Entheseal changes, formerly called musculoskeletal stress markers, are thought to reflect muscle usage throughout life, although it is widely agreed that they have a multifactorial origin. This paper uses a meta-analysis of comparable published data to plot trends in time by muscle, enthesis type and sex. The results show that agriculturalists have the lowest scores for entheseal changes, with hunte–gatherers next highest and those working in industry the highest. These findings are the same for males and females, for most muscles and muscle groups. However, entheseal changes are highly correlated with increased age and the age distributions of the samples analysed could not be compared. It is, therefore, possible that differences in age distribution of the samples are one of the reasons for this finding. Recommendations are provided to reduce this and other limitations for future meta-analyses.

Enthesopathies, in the guise of musculoskeletal skeletal stress markers (MSM), have been widely used to reconstruct activity levels in human skeletal populations. In general, studies have focused on their presence in the upper limb, which is used in the majority of daily activities. The aim of this study was to use some of the attachment sites on the humerus to explore the relationship between enthesopathy formation, activity, and the ageing process. The skeletal sample used in this study comprised male adult skeletons with known age-at-death and known occupations from the late-19th and early-20th century cemeteries in Portugal. The enthesopathies were recorded as either present or absent. Statistical analysis using Fishers exact tests and logistic regression was undertaken to determine whether associations could be found between specific activities or socioeconomic status (manual or nonmanual workers), and age and enthesopathy presence. Left and right sides were analyzed separately. Fisher's exact tests were used to determine the relationship between activity and enthesopathy, and they demonstrated no association between activity and enthesopathies (P > 0.01). The results of the logistic regression established that age was the single most significant factor in enthesopathy formation (P > 0.05). This study found that, in these samples, age-at-death, and therefore age-related degeneration rather than degeneration caused by activities, was the primary cause of enthesopathy formation. Considering the difficulties of reliably ageing adult human skeletal remains, this is a major issue for studies of activity using enthesopathies. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

- by Charlotte Henderson and +1
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- Bioarchaeology, Paleopathology, Human Remains (Anthropology), Musculoskeletal Stress Markers (MSM)

Differential diagnosis is a fundamental step in every palaeopathological study. It is a challenging exercise since many intrinsic and extrinsic factors may negatively impact the accurate interpretation of bone changes in human skeletal remains. Among these, the completeness and preservation of skeletal elements plays a significant role. This study aims to explore the limits of differential diagnosis in the analysis of disarticulated, fragmented bones. The sample consists of twelve adult bone fragments with noticeable changes. The remains were identified in a dis-articulated skeletal assemblage from the former necropolis of Juncal (Porto de Mós, Portugal), which probably closed in the late 19th century/early 20th century. They were analysed visually and with X-radiography, and the changes carefully described prior to differential diagnosis. Six bones presented signs of healed bone trauma and one showed features compatible with leg amputation. Periosteal reactions were observed in several bones, one of them resembling changes consistent with an overlying skin ulcer. Two bone fragments were identified as belonging to the same individual due to the matching bone changes. Despite the incomplete remains, a broader diagnosis was possible for most cases, which facilitated a discussion of health, medical and social care among the inhabitants of the region.

- by Charlotte Henderson and +2
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- Bioarchaeology, Paleopathology, Physical Anthropology, Palaeopathology

Entheseal changes (ECs) have been widely used in anthropology to study activity-patterns, but there is an increasing awareness that ageing is associated with these changes. The aim of this study was to test each feature of the new Coimbra method for its variability, side asymmetry and its relationship with age. In addition to this an overall relationship with age was tested for a larger sample. Males sixteen and over from the Coimbra identified skeletal collection were recorded using the new method (n=260). To reduce the impact of occupation, side variability in asymmetry and age were only tested in the labourers (n=51). All occupation groups were included to test the overall relationship with age using a random forest test.
The results show that scores lack variability for many of the features and entheses. Where there is side asymmetry this is typically in favour of higher scores in the right side, excepting the biceps brachii insertion. Most of the features scored show a relationship with ageing, but this is not uniform for all features or entheses. Some features are associated with an increase in age (bone formation and erosions), while others generally occur in younger individuals (fine porosity and textural change). Logistic regression showed that ageing explains at most 44% of variability. This, alongside, the side asymmetry may indicate that biomechanics has an explanatory role.

- by Charlotte Henderson and +1
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- Biological Anthropology, Bioarchaeology, Human Anatomy (Biological Anthropology), Aging

This paper presents a revised version of the Coimbra method for recording fibrocartilaginous entheses. The method itself is the only biologically appropriate recording method for fibrocartilaginous entheses that scores features separately, thereby ensuring that the aetiology of individual features can be studied. The method divides the enthesis into two zones, scoring the relevant features in each zone. These features represent either bone formation or bone destruction and include erosive lesions, fine and macroporosity, and cavitations. The revised method includes a new feature, textural change, which is scored as absent or present when it involves 50% or more of the surface. All other features are now scored as zero (absent), one or two with the higher score representing greater expression of the feature. This change in scoring has led to the reduction of inter-observer error with approximately 80% agreement for overall feature scores for both the common extensor origin and subscapularis insertion. The simplification of the scores and the reduction in inter-observer error mean that the method is now recommended for widespread use.

- by Cynthia Wilczak and +2
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- Biological Anthropology, Forensic Anthropology, Musculoskeletal Stress Markers (MSM), Coimbra (Portugal)

Fibrous entheses are widely used to study behaviour in past populations.Pathological conditions may also cause similar entheseal changes (EC).The literature review highlighted that calcific tendinitis can cause EC.Further palaeopathological research is required to test this hypothesis.Fibrous entheses have been widely used to study activity-related stress to infer behavioural patterns in past populations. Unlike their fibrocartilaginous counterparts, the effect of disease processes has been less widely discussed in the osteoarchaeological literature. This study uses a literature review to ascertain whether specific pathological changes should be taken into account when recording fibrous entheses. Due to the anatomical structure of fibrous entheses it was hypothesised that diseases which affect the structure of bone or the periosteum might be a factor in causing entheseal changes. A search of over one hundred terms was performed in PubMed with no year range stipulated, but no papers were found which related to entheseal changes caused by any of the expected pathological processes. The paucity of literature might be due to lack of symptoms in living individuals, it is therefore suggested that a systematic study of skeletal remains is performed using recently developed recording methods to determine if pathological conditions need to be taken into account when recording entheseal changes to study activity-related stress. The search did highlight a link between calcific tendinitis and cortical erosion at fibrous entheses, and it is recommended that this is taken into account when interpreting entheseal changes in past populations.

- by Leandro Luna
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- Bioarchaeology, Paleopathology, Gender, Paleodemography

The emergence of horse riding in Mongolia has recently gained attention in archaeological research (e.g. Houle 2016; Makarewicz et al 2018; Taylor and Tuvshinjargel 2018). Most of this research consists of zooarchaeological studies examining evidence of riding through osteological analyses of horse skeletal remains. This thesis represents an exploratory study on entheseal changes in human skeletal remains from the Bronze and Iron Age of Mongolia (c. 2500 BCE – c. 200 CE) to investigate patterns of repetitive physical activity that may be suggestive of horse riding. Entheseal changes refer to morphological alterations to bone caused by repetitive physical activity that are identifiable through bioarchaeological analysis (e.g. Hawkey and Merbs 1995; Villotte et al 2010). The study sample consists of 52 individuals from the National University of Mongolia and Züünkhangai, Mongolia. The “New Coimbra” method serves as the scoring procedure of entheseal changes in this study (Henderson et al 2016). Statistical analyses indicate patterns of entheseal changes that may be suggestive of repetitive and long-term horse riding are observed in individuals from the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age (LBA/EIA). These patterns are supported by recent ethnoarchaeological research on contemporary Mongolian riding techniques as well as zooarchaeological observations of osteological remodeling on prehistoric horse crania (Taylor and Tuvshinjargel 2018). Therefore, this study offers evidence for horse riding emerging in the LBA/EIA, which may have influenced the economic and sociopolitical transitions that occur during the Bronze and Iron Age.

- by Matthew R Fuka
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- Zooarchaeology, Bioarchaeology, Inner Asian Studies, Mongolian Studies

The Battle of Resaca de la Palma, the second battle of the Mexican-American War, was fought on May 9, 1846 near the Rio Grande River in southern Texas. The battle was won decisively by United States troops and resulted in the death of hundreds of Mexican soldiers who were subsequently buried in mass graves. One of the mass graves (41CF3) contained the skeletal remains of 27 to 36 adult male soldiers, including those from the Seventh and Tenth Infantry companies. The skeletal remains were examined for battle-related injuries. The anatomical location of each wound was documented and each lesion was inspected to determine the timing, type of wound, and the direction of the force. More than half of the individuals exhibited osteological evidence of battle-related trauma. The wound distribution pattern and type of wounds present demonstrates that traditional battle tactics, as well as hand-to-hand combat, occurred at Resaca de la Palma.

- by Scholar Science Journals
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- Bioarchaeology, Paleopathology, Stress physiology, Stress

In ancient populations studies, investigation on activity-induced pathology performed by means of an integrated and epidemiological approach can provide useful evidence about physical activities, age of occupancy, sexual differentiation, social stratification and working tasks diVision of past human groups. The analysis of occupational stress of the skeletal sample coming
from the poor necropolis of Lucus Feroniae, a rural town of the Roman Imperial Age, was carried out on: degenerative disease of joints and vertebral bodies, traumas, hypertrophic changes at sites of muscles and ligament insertion, presence of anatomical variants caused by postural habits or body movements.
The results as a whole seem to indicate that the population, likely representative of a low social group (potentially slaves), was precociously and actively employed in heavy manual work activities. These may have included farming tasks demanding lifting, heavy loads transportation and long-distance walking on rough grounds.

ABSTRACT: Analysis of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes from soft or mineralized tissues is a direct and widely used
technique for modeling diets. In addition to its continued role in paleodiet analysis, stable isotope analysis is now
contributing to studies of physiology, disease, and nutrition in archaeological and living human populations. In humans
and other animals, dietary uptake and distribution of carbon and nitrogen among mineralized and soft tissue is carried
out with varying efficiency due to factors of internal biology. Human pathophysiologies may lead to pathology-influenced
isotopic fractionation that can be exploited to understand not just skeletal health and diet, but physiological
health and nutrition. This study reviews examples from human biology, non-human animal ecology, biomedicine, and
bioarchaeology demonstrating how stable isotope analyses are usefully applied to the study of physiological adaptation
and adaptability. Suggestions are made for future directions in applying stable isotope analysis to the study of nutritional
stress, disease, and growth and development in living and past human populations.

- by Laurie Reitsema
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- Archaeology, Health Sciences, Nutrition and Dietetics, Human Evolution

Entheseal changes take place at the interface between a muscle, tendon or ligament and a bone. By scoring the development of these changes this study measured the labour intensity of five skeletal collections from Ireland. The methodology employed was the Mariotti et al. (2007) entheseal scoring method, used to examine twenty-three postcranial enthesis sites on seventy-two male skeletons. Standard methods were utilised for skeletal sex determination and age estimation. One of the collections studied was excavated from a convict graveyard of the Victorian prison on Spike Island and facilitated an assessment of the biological effect of unfree labour patterns in comparison to free communities. The results found that while many prisoners had very high entheseal development, the entheseal evidence does not indicate a higher intensity of labour than the general population. A number of reasons for this were explored, including an unavoidable sample bias and a discussion of the complex concepts of free and unfree. The four other collections examined provided varied samples so that comparisons could be made between early medieval and post-medieval, urban and rural, Catholic and Anglican, young adults and older individuals. The two controlling factors of age and body size (estimated by humeral measurements) were examined; age was found to correlate with greater entheseal development but body size was found to have no
correlation, which may be due to the nature of a single-sex study. The results of this study have salient implications for the bioarchaeological study of the unfree, such as prisoners and slaves, as well as for the burgeoning field of enthesis studies.

- by Ana Luisa Santos and +1
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- Anthropology, Biological Anthropology, Musculoskeletal Stress Markers (MSM), Enthesopathies
- by Eoin Parkinson
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- Musculoskeletal Stress Markers (MSM), Entheseal Changes
- by Rui Boaventura
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- Archaeology, Forensic Anthropology, Bioarchaeology, Paleopathology

Entheseal changes (EC) are changes to areas where connective tissue (tendon or ligament) attaches to bone. Previous studies have suggested that heavy physical activity has an effect on EC development, among other factors such as age, body size, and (male) sex. In this study, EC in the upper limbs was examined in a Hellenistic-Roman rural population from Boğazköy, Turkey to assess gender differences in activity patterns. EC was positively correlated with age at death, and therefore, old adults were excluded when comparing the EC scores of males and females. Significant differences in EC between the sexes were tentatively considered as an indicator of gender-specific activities. Females exhibited significantly higher EC scores at the common extensor muscles' origin site (lateral epicondyle of the humerus), with a right-sided dominance. Common extensor muscles are related to movements of the wrist. It is assumed that the repetitive labor of weaving, spinning , and grinding may have caused these changes. Significantly higher EC scores in males than females were found only in the insertion site of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles (greater tubercle of the humerus). EC scores in this shoulder-related enthesis also showed a right-sided dominance. It is assumed that some activities performed by males, such as woodcutting, shoveling, and building-related activities may have caused EC in this enthesis.

- by Handan Ustundag
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- Paleopathology, Musculoskeletal Stress Markers (MSM), Enthesopathies, Hattusa

Musculosceletal Disorder (MSD) is a current phenomenon that occur in the student as the effect of sitting in a long duration while lecturing. Most of student activities spend by sitting in the classroom as consequent long duration of time studying that have to be Attended.Supporting cheerfulness in the studying is important to match the concept of desk and chair the which is suitable with anthropometry or criteria, such as desk and chair the which are ergonomic. This research Aimed to identify the risk factors that correlated with Musculoskeletal complaints in 5th grade student at Pioneer School. Design used in this research is correlative roomates amount of of participants is 100 and statistical analyzes was perfomed with the chi-square test.Musculoskeletal complaints were uncorrelated with sitting posture (α> 0.05, p = 0.202) of Pioneer School pupils. Result of ergonomic analysis about a desk and chair design based on the pupil's anthropometry were desk and chair did not met suitable with anthropometry include seat height, seat length, backrest lower edge height, backrest upper edge height, chair height, desk height and desk width. Dimensions such as seat slope, thickness cushioned seat, backrest angle, length desk, desk platform thickness and footrest height had not met the standard available yet. Musculoskeletal complaints were Significantly correlated with desk design based on the pupil's anthropometry (α <0.05, p = 0.004) and musculoskeletal complaints Also were Significantly correlated with chair design based on the pupil's anthropometry (α <0.05, p = 0.00). Researcher suggest another research performed about the need to musculoskeletal complaints in all student in Pioneer School. Recommended that school pay attention to the ergonomic aspect and change Gradually for desk and chair dimension.

- by Susan Guise Sheridan
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- Bioarchaeology, Paleopathology, Prayer, Byzantine Studies
- by ALLAN ORTEGA-MUÑOZ
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- Bioarchaeology, Paleopathology, Osteology, Paleodemography

(2013) Voutsaki, S., Milka, E., Triantaphyllou, S. and Zerner, C. Middle Helladic Lerna: Diet, economy and society. In Voutsaki, S. and Valamoti, S.-M. (eds) Diet, economy and society in the ancient Greek world.

- by Sofia Voutsaki and +2
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- Archaeology, Stable Isotope Analysis, Bioarchaeology, Paleopathology

BACKGROUND/AIM: Backpack effect posture, walking and physiological costs but there is dearth of literature on effects of backpack strap (1 versus 2 straps) on gait and perceived exertion among young adults. We determined the influence of type of backpack shoulder strap on gait parameters and perceived exertion of young adults in a free-living normal walking speed. METHODS: Twenty-five young adults with a mean age of 22 years underwent a self-selected normal speed walking for six minutes each under 3 testing conditions: without a backpack; with 1 strap; and with 2 straps. Selected gait parameters and perceived exertion were assessed. RESULTS: There were no significant difference in stride length, stride time, step length, step time, gait speed, and cadence among the three walking conditions. However, perceived exertions were significantly higher when the backpack was carried with 15% irrespective of 1 strap or 2 straps. CONCLUSION: Momentary carriage of a backpack either on 1 strap or 2 straps does not appear to influence gait phases. However, this short bout of normal walking appear to increase perceived exertion in young adults irrespective of whether the backpack is wore on single or double shoulder strap.

The purpose of this article is to study the osteological remains of some individuals discovered in the "Neolithic" site from Cârcea ("La Viaduct" and "La Hanuri" settlements). For this, we studied the human skeletal representation, and the taphonomic history of the assemblage. This analysis highlighted that the skulls and long bones (in different degrees of fragmentation, "cut" and some showing evidence for contact with fire) are the only represented skeletal elements. In the case of 10 individuals the results highlighted that the bones undergone certain processing stages, due to probably perimortem human action. The evaluation of the archaeological sample was made in the light of forensic and taphonomic analysis conducted on modern cadavers,and by comparison with similar archaeological discoveries. Unfortunately, it is not easy to determine what happened to the initial bodies of these individuals so that in the end only certain (fragmentary) body-parts were found, and finally "deposited" in a ditch and in pits. The proposed explanation is that the bones were processed in a desired manner for specific reasons, one of them being that of cannibalism.

- by Alexandra Ion
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- Bioarchaeology, Paleopathology, Trauma Studies, Neolithic Archaeology
- by Nuria Montes and +1
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- Osteoarchaeology, Palaeopathology, Osteoarthritis, Musculoskeletal Stress Markers (MSM)