These researchers studied upper extremity musculoskeletal pain during
and after rehabilitation in wheelchair-using patients with a spinal
cord injury (SCI) and its relation with lesion characteristics, muscle
strength, and functional outcome. Eight rehabilitation centers in the
Netherlands with an SCI unit. Investigators used a questionnaire to
measuer the number, frequency, and seriousness of musculoskeletal pain
complaints of the upper extremity. A pain score for the wrist, elbow,
and shoulder joints was calculated by multiplying the seriousness by
the frequency of pain complaints. An overall score was obtained by adding
the scores of the three joints of both upper extremities. Muscle strength
was determined by manual muscle testing. The motor score of the functional
independence measure provided a functional outcome. All outcomes were
obtained at four test occasions during and 1 year after rehabilitation.
Upper extremity pain and shoulder pain decreased over time (30%) during
the latter part of inpatient rehabilitation. Subjects with tetraplegia
(TP) showed more musculoskeletal pain than subjects with paraplegia
(PP). Upper extremity pain and shoulder pain were significantly inversely
related to functional outcome. Muscle strength was significantly inversely
related to shoulder pain. Musculoskeletal pain at the beginning of rehabilitation
and BMI were strong predictors for pain 1 year after inpatient rehabilitation.
The investigators concluded that patients with TP are at a higher risk
for upper extremity musculoskeletal pain and for shoulder pain than
subjects with PP. Higher muscle strength and higher functional outcome
are related to fewer upper extremity complaints. van Drongelen S, de
Groot S, Veeger HE, Angenot EL, Dallmeijer AJ, Post MW, van der Woude
LH. Spinal Cord, 6 September 2005; doi:10.1038/sj.sc.3101826.
PMID 16151450
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16151450&query_hl=12
Credit: PubMed, developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information
(NCBI) at the National
Library of Medicine (NLM).
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