Dataset Information

An investigation of somatosensory profiles in work related upper limb disorders: a case-control observational study protocol.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Work related upper limb disorders constitute 45% of all occupational diseases and are a significant public health problem. A subgroup, non specific arm pain (NSAP), remains elusive in terms of understanding its pathophysiological mechanisms with its diagnosis based on the absence of specific clinical findings. One commonly proposed theory is that a neural tissue disorder is the primary dysfunction in NSAP and findings from previous studies lend some support to this theory. However, it is not clear if changes identified are simply a consequence of ongoing pain rather than due to specific neural changes. The presence of neuropathic pain has been investigated in several other musculoskeletal conditions but currently, there is no specific diagnostic tool or gold standard which permits an unequivocal diagnosis of neuropathic pain. The purpose of this study is to further describe the somatosensory profiles in patients with NSAP and to compare these profiles to a group of patients with MRI confirmed cervical radiculopathy who have been previously classified as having neuropathic pain. METHODS/DESIGN: Three groups of participants will be investigated: Groups 1 and 2 will be office workers with either NSAP or cervical radiculopathy and Group 3 will be a control group of non office workers without upper limb pain. Participants will undergo a clinical assessment, pain questionnaires (LANSS, Short Form McGill, DASH and TSK) and quantitative sensory testing comprising thermal detection and pain thresholds, vibration thresholds and pressure pain thresholds. DISCUSSION: The spectrum of clinically suspected neuropathic pain ranges from more obvious conditions such as trigeminal neuralgia to those with vague signs of nerve disorder such as NSAP. A thorough description of the somatosensory profiles of NSAP patients and a comparison with a more defined group of patients with evidence of neuropathic pain will help in the understanding of underlying neurophysiology in NSAP and may influence future classification and intervention studies relating to this condition.

SUBMITTER: Moloney N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2825226 | biostudies-other | 2010

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

ACCESS DATA

Publications

An investigation of somatosensory profiles in work related upper limb disorders: a case-control observational study protocol.

Moloney Niamh N Hall Toby T Doody Catherine C

BMC musculoskeletal disorders 20100130

<h4>Background</h4>Work related upper limb disorders constitute 45% of all occupational diseases and are a significant public health problem. A subgroup, non specific arm pain (NSAP), remains elusive in terms of understanding its pathophysiological mechanisms with its diagnosis based on the absence of specific clinical findings. One commonly proposed theory is that a neural tissue disorder is the primary dysfunction in NSAP and findings from previous studies lend some support to this theory. How ...[more]

PMID: 20113518

Similar Datasets

Project description:Background Prior studies have established that senses of the limb position in space (proprioception and kinaesthesia) are important for motor control and learning. Although nearly one-half of stroke patients have impairment in the ability to sense their movements, somatosensory retraining focusing on proprioception and kinaesthesia is often overlooked. Interventions that simultaneously target motor and somatosensory components are thought to be useful for relearning somatosensory functions while increasing mobility of the affected limb. For over a decade, robotic technology has been incorporated in stroke rehabilitation for more controlled therapy intensity, duration, and frequency. This pilot randomised controlled trial introduces a compact robotic-based upper-limb reaching task that retrains proprioception and kinaesthesia concurrently. Methods Thirty first-ever chronic stroke survivors (> 6-month post-stroke) will be randomly assigned to either a treatment or a control group. Over a 5-week period, the treatment group will receive 15 training sessions for about an hour per session. Robot-generated haptic guidance will be provided along the movement path as somatosensory cues while moving. Audio-visual feedback will appear following every successful movement as a reward. For the same duration, the control group will complete similar robotic training but without the vision occluded and robot-generated cues. Baseline, post-day 1, and post-day 30 assessments will be performed, where the last two sessions will be conducted after the last training session. Robotic-based performance indices and clinical assessments of upper limb functions after stroke will be used to acquire primary and secondary outcome measures respectively. This work will provide insights into the feasibility of such robot-assisted training clinically. Discussion The current work presents a study protocol to retrain upper-limb somatosensory and motor functions using robot-based rehabilitation for community-dwelling stroke survivors. The training promotes active use of the affected arm while at the same time enhances somatosensory input through augmented feedback. The outcomes of this study will provide preliminary data and help inform the clinicians on the feasibility and practicality of the proposed exercise. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04490655. Registered 29 July 2020. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40814-021-00948-3.

Project description:BackgroundUpper limb paresis is one of the most frequent and persistent impairments following stroke. Only 12-34% of stroke patients achieve full recovery of upper limb functioning, which seems to be required to habitually use the affected arm in daily tasks. Although the recovery of upper limb functioning is most pronounced during the first 4 weeks post stroke, there are few studies investigating the effect of rehabilitation during this critical time window. The purpose of this trial is to determine the effect of electrical somatosensory stimulation (ESS) initiated in the acute stroke phase on the recovery of upper limb functioning in a nonselected sample of stroke patients.Methods/designA sample of 102 patients with upper limb paresis of varying degrees of severity is assigned to either the intervention or the control group using stratified random sampling. The intervention group receives ESS plus usual rehabilitation and the control group receives sham ESS plus usual rehabilitation. The intervention is applied as 1 h of ESS/sham ESS daily, followed by motor training of the affected upper limb. The ESS/sham ESS treatment is initiated within 7 days from stroke onset and it is delivered during hospitalization, but no longer than 4 weeks post stroke. The primary outcome is hand dexterity assessed by the Box and Block Test; secondary outcomes are the Fugl-Meyer Assessment, hand grip strength, pinch strength, perceptual threshold of touch, degree of pain, and modified Rankin Scale score. Outcome measurements are conducted at baseline, post intervention and at 6-month follow-up.DiscussionBecause of the wide inclusion criteria, we believe that the results can be generalized to the larger population of patients with a first-ever stroke who present with an upper limb paresis of varying severity. On the other hand, the sample size (n = 102) may preclude subgroup analyses in such a heterogeneous sample. The sham ESS treatment totals a mere 2% of the active ESS treatment delivered to the intervention group per ESS session, and we consider that this dose is too small to induce a treatment effect.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02250365 . Registered on 18 September 2014.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Musculoskeletal disorders can result from prolonged repetitive and/or forceful movements. Performance of an upper extremity high repetition high force task increases serum pro-inflammatory cytokines and upper extremity sensorimotor declines in a rat model of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Since one of the most efficacious treatments for musculoskeletal pain is exercise, this study investigated the effectiveness of treadmill running in preventing these responses. METHODS:Twenty-nine young adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were used. Nineteen were trained for 5?weeks to pull a lever bar at high force (15?min/day). Thirteen went on to perform a high repetition high force reaching and lever-pulling task for 10?weeks (10-wk HRHF; 2?h/day, 3?days/wk). From this group, five were randomly selected to undergo forced treadmill running exercise (TM) during the last 6?weeks of task performance (10-wk HRHF+TM, 1?h/day, 5?days/wk). Results were compared to 10 control rats and 6 rats that underwent 6?weeks of treadmill running following training only (TR-then-TM). Voluntary task and reflexive sensorimotor behavioral outcomes were assessed. Serum was assayed for inflammatory cytokines and corticosterone, reach limb median nerves for CD68+ macrophages and extraneural thickening, and reach limb flexor digitorum muscles and tendons for pathological changes. RESULTS:10-wk HRHF rats had higher serum levels of IL-1?, IL-1? and TNF?, than control rats. In the 10-wk HRHF+TM group, IL-1? and TNF? were lower, whereas IL-10 and corticosterone were higher, compared to 10-wk HRHF only rats. Unexpectedly, several voluntary task performance outcomes (grasp force, reach success, and participation) worsened in rats that underwent treadmill running, compared to untreated 10-wk HRHF rats. Examination of forelimb tissues revealed lower cellularity within the flexor digitorum epitendon but higher numbers of CD68+ macrophages within and extraneural fibrosis around median nerves in 10-wk HRHF+TM than 10-wk HRHF rats. CONCLUSIONS:Treadmill running was associated with lower systemic inflammation and moderate tendinosis, yet higher median nerve inflammation/fibrosis and worse task performance and sensorimotor behaviors. Continued loading of the injured tissues in addition to stress-related factors associated with forced running/exercise likely contributed to our findings.

Dataset Information

An investigation of somatosensory profiles in work related upper limb disorders: a case-control observational study protocol.

Publications

An investigation of somatosensory profiles in work related upper limb disorders: a case-control observational study protocol.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets