Comparison of high tone therapy and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation therapy in chemotherapy-induced polyneuropathy.

INTRODUCTION: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a worldwide concern in patients receiving neurotoxic agents for cancer therapy. High tone external muscle stimulation is a promising therapeutic approach to alleviate symptoms of CIPN. METHODS: This pilot study aims to investigate whether the application of home-based high-tone external muscle stimulation therapy (HTEMS) improves symptoms of CIPN. The trial is planned as a therapist- and assessor-blinded, 1:1 randomized controlled study. A total of 50 patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral polyneuropathy will be included. All patients will perform therapy at home. Study participants will be allocated randomly to the HTEMS therapy (intervention group) or to the transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS, control group), respectively, following a standardized therapy schedule. Compliance of participants can be verified by reading out the tool box. Outcomes will be evaluated at baseline and after 8 weeks of home-based therapy. The primary outcome includes improvement of CIPN according to the patient-reported EORTC QLQ-CIPN 20 questionnaire. Secondary outcomes are the patient-reported change in health-related quality of life and clinician-reported changes of vibration sensibility, tendon reflexes, temperature sensibility, perception of touch, and strength of the lower leg muscles. Further a safety- and process evaluation will be performed. DISCUSSION: This pilot RCT aims to evaluate the impact of home-based HTEMS as compared to TENS in CIPN. There is a need for an effective treatment for CIPN and the results of this study are expected to possibly identify a novel and effective treatment strategy in the future.

A 1-Year Prospective Analysis of Ice Climbing Injuries.

OBJECTIVE: To describe rates, patterns, and causes of acute injuries in an increasingly popular outdoor sport. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: One winter season ranging from November 2011 to March 2011. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy ice climbers from 13 different countries and various performance levels. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants were asked to complete a monthly Internet-based survey regarding their completed hours of training and competitions and eventual sustained injuries. RESULTS: During 4275 hours of ice climbing, 42 injuries occurred, of which 81.0% were defined as mild, 16.6% as moderate, and 2.4% as severe. The calculated injury rate was 9.8 injuries per 1000 hours of sports exposure. Intermediate ice climbers had a significantly higher injury risk compared with advanced ice climbers (odds ratio, 2.55; 95% confidence intervals, 1.17-5.54; P = 0.018). About 73.8% of all injuries occurred on a frozen waterfall, icicles, or icefalls, whereas 4.8% occurred on artificial ice walls. The head was the most injured body part (47.6%), followed by the knee (14.3%) and the shoulder (11.9%). The most common types of injuries were abrasions (38.1%), contusions (35.7%), and joint sprains (7.1%). Falling ice was the main circumstance leading to injury (59.5%). All athletes with a head injury wore a helmet; however, only 35.0% mentioned they used protective goggles. CONCLUSION: Ice climbing is a sport with moderate risk for injury with most of the reported injuries being of minor severity. However, severe and fatal injuries, although less common, also occur. Advanced ice climbers with greater experience and skill level have a lower overall injury risk.