Stroke - shoulder pain and upper limb function

Introduction: Stroke causes disability and pain, especially shoulder pain. Often, shoulder pain, has a not completely known mechanism and evolution.1,2 Objectives: Assess shoulder pain and its impact in upper limb function, in patients who had suffered a stroke within 6 months. Methods: Observational study. Included patients at discharge from an inpatient rehabilitation centre, from November 2019 until February 2020. Assessment was done using validated Portuguese versions of the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and Fugl Meyer Assessment Scale (FMAS). Results: Of 32 patients screened, 26 fulfilled the inclusion criteria, 7 were females (26,9 %), with mean age of 60,7±10 years. Mean values of BPI Severity and Interference were 3,2±1,6 and 2,4±1,8, respectively. The mean values of the FMAS Motor Function and Passive Articular Movement were 38,8±23,2 and 20,3±2,3, respectively. Analysing the association between both subscales of BPI and both Subscales of FMAS negative correlations were found to be statistically significant with a confidence interval of 95% but there was no correlation between BPI Severity and FMAS motor function. Six patients (23%) received a local injection for shoulder pain. Analysing both groups, BPI Severity and both subscales of FMAS showed a statistically significant difference (p values of 0,0083, 0,0031 and 0,0056, respectively) for a Wilcoxon/Kruskal-Wallis test with a confidence interval of 95%. Discussion/Conclusions: Patients with voluntary upper limb movements after a stroke tend to have less shoulder pain. Local injection was an effective intervention for shoulder pain. The greatest limitation of this study is the small sample size.

Effectiveness of Post-Operative Exercises on Upper Limb Function among Clients with Modified Radical Mastectomy at selected Cancer Hospitals, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Objective: The study was conducted to assess the Effectiveness of Post-Operative Exercises on Upper Limb Function among Clients with Modified Radical Mastectomy at selected Cancer Hospitals, Hyderabad, Telangana. Study objectives were to (i) Assess the upper limb function among the clients with Modified Radical Mastectomy before the intervention. (ii) Demonstrate post-operative upper limb function exercises to the clients with breast cancer posted for Modified Radical Mastectomy. (iii) Assess the effectiveness of post-operative exercises on upper limb function among clients with Modified Radical Mastectomy. (iv) Find out the association between the upper limb function among clients with Modified Radical Mastectomy and selected variables. Methodology: Quantitative evaluative research approach was used for this study. The study was conducted at selected cancer hospitals, Hyderabad, Telangana. Pre-test post-test group only design adopted. The sample comprised of 30, 15 sample taken as experimental group,15 sample taken as experimental group. Sample was selected by purposive sampling technique. The data was collected by observational checklist. Results: The results revealed that pretest mean score was 64.03 and after intervention the post-test mean score was 57.16 there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post test scores from day 1 to day 5 of the clients at the level of p= 0.05, computed ‘t’ value is more than table value hence null hypothesis was rejected. The obtained’ value was 8.15, found greater than ‘t’ table value. Conclusion: The study concluded that most of the sample was improved upper limb function from day 1to day 5. There is a significant difference between pretest and post- test scores, The findings point out that demonstration of teaching programme would improve the upper limb function of clients with Modified Radical Mastectomy.

Gait Improvement in Chronic Stroke Survivors by Using an Innovative Gait Training Machine: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Chronic stroke leads to the impairment of lower limb function and gait performance. After in-hospital rehabilitation, most individuals lack continuous gait training because of the limited number of physical therapists. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a newly invented gait training machine (I-Walk) on lower limb function and gait performance in chronic stroke individuals. Thirty community-dwelling chronic stroke individuals were allocated to the I-Walk machine group (n = 15) or the overground gait training (control) group (n = 15). Both groups received 30 min of upper limb and hand movement and sit-to-stand training. After that, the I-Walk group received 30 min of I-Walk training, while the control followed a 30-minute overground training program. All the individuals were trained 3 days/week for 8 weeks. The primary outcome of the motor recovery of lower limb impairment was measured using the Fugl–Meyer Assessment (FMA). The secondary outcomes for gait performance were the 6-minute walk test (6 MWT), the 10-meter walk test (10 MWT), and the Timed Up and Go (TUG). The two-way mixed-model ANOVA with the Bonferroni test was used to compare means within and between groups. The post-intervention motor and sensory subscales of the FMA significantly increased compared to the baseline in both groups. Moreover, the 6 MWT and 10 MWT values also improved in both groups. In addition, the mean difference of TUG in the I-Walk was higher than the control. The efficiency of I-Walk training was comparable to overground training and might be applied for chronic stroke gait training in the community.

Study on the Effect of Removing the Slide Wire Screw on Locking Plate by Nail Groove Reconstruction Method

Background: This paper is to describe and evaluate the nail groove reconstruction method in removing slide wire screw on locking plate. Then compare the method with tungsten steel drilling nail method, to explore a new method of removing slide wire screw on locking plate.Method: A total of 1254 patients with removal fracture internal fixation devices were collected from the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University from July 2015 to September 2021, of which 62 cases met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. All patients were randomly divided into the experimental group and the control group. 31 people per group. There were 19 males and 12 females in the experimental group, the age of patients was 35.68±11.70years; while 18 males and 13 females in the control group, the age of patients was 36.27±10.37years. Nail groove reconstruction method was used in the experimental group, and the tungsten steel drilling nail method was used in the control group. Collect and count surgical-related indicators, the data of two groups were compared and analyzed from four aspects: intraoperative blood loss, operation time, incision healing time and limb function recovery time.Result: All slide wire screws were removed successfully, and all patients had no serious postoperative complications such as internal fixation retention and neurovascular injury. The experimental group was better than the control group in the following three aspects: the amount of intraoperative blood loss, the operative time, the recovery time of limb function, and the differences were statistically significant(p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in incision healing time between the two groups.Conclusion: The nail groove reconstruction method has less damage to the bone and soft tissue, less intraoperative blood loss, shorter operation time, and faster postoperative recovery of limb function. The nail groove reconstruction method is a simple and effective method, it has obvious advantages compared with the traditional method.

Can a pathological model improve the abilities of the paretic hand in hemiplegic children? The PAM-AOT study protocol of a randomised controlled trial

IntroductionAction Observation Treatment (AOT) is an innovative therapeutic approach consisting in the observation of actions followed by subsequent repetition. In children with unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP), it improves upper limb function in daily activities. The standard paradigm of AOT requires the observation of healthy models; however, it has been demonstrated that the mirror neuron system of children with UCP is more activated by observation of pathological models, showing a similar motor repertoire, than by the healthy model, suggesting that AOT based on pathological models is superior to the standard paradigm of AOT in the functional rehabilitation of the affected upper limb of children with UCP.Methods and analysisThis protocol describes an active two-arm randomised controlled evaluator-blinded trial. Twenty-six children with UCP will participate in 3 weeks of intensive AOT: the experimental group will observe a pathological model, while the control group will observe a typically developed model. The primary outcome is the spontaneous use of the paretic hand, measured with the Assisting Hand Assessment. Secondary outcome measures are the Melbourne Assessment of Unilateral Upper Limb Function, the ABILHAND-Kids and the Activities Scale for Kids-performance. Assessments will be performed at baseline (T0), at the end of intensive AOT (T1), at 8–12 weeks (T2) and at 24–28 weeks (T3) after the end of intensive AOT.Ethics and disseminationThe trial was approved by the Area Vasta Emilia Nord Ethics Committee (AVEN prot. n. 133117, 29 November 2018), and it was prospectively registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. The results will be submitted for publication to a peer-reviewed journal, discussed with parents of children participating in the trial and disseminated at suitable conferences.Trial registration numberNCT04088994; Pre-results.