Fascial manipulation as an adjunct to physiotherapy management in obstetric brachial plexus palsy: A case report.

The integrity of connective tissue sheaths surrounding the nerves influences both the severity and the potential for recovery of brachial plexus lesions. This study presents an innovative, early onset, multidisciplinary approach to obstetric brachial plexus palsy. This approach is aimed at functional recovery of the nerve lesion and includes mobilization of the fascia using the Fascial Manipulation® method. This case study discusses how, in addition to conventional treatment, interventions aimed at the fascial system can potentially affect tension around the neural sheaths, enhance proprioceptive input and facilitate movement to influence obstetric brachial plexus palsy outcomes.

Acupuncture Induces Reduction in Limbic-Cortical Feedback of a Neuralgia Rat Model: A Dynamic Causal Modeling Study.

Background: Neuropathic pain after brachial plexus avulsion remained prevalent and intractable currently. However, the neuroimaging study about neural mechanisms or etiology was limited and blurred. Objective: This study is aimed at investigating the effect of electroacupuncture on effective connectivity and neural response in corticolimbic circuitries during implicit processing of nociceptive stimulus in rats with brachial plexus pain. Methods: An fMRI scan was performed in a total of 16 rats with brachial plexus pain, which was equally distributed into the model group and the electroacupuncture group. The analysis of task-dependent data determined pain-related activation in each group. Based on those results, several regions including AMY, S1, and h were recruited as ROI in dynamic causal modeling (DCM) analysis comparing evidence for different neuronal hypotheses describing the propagation of noxious stimuli in regions of interest and horizontal comparison of effective connections between the model and electroacupuncture groups. Results: In both groups, DCM revealed that noxious stimuli were most likely driven by the somatosensory cortex, with bidirectional propagation with the hypothalamus and amygdala and the interactions in them. Also, the 3-month intervention of acupuncture reduced effective connections of h-S1 and AMY-S1. Conclusions: We showed an evidence that a full connection model within the brain network of brachial plexus pain and electroacupuncture intervention reduces effective connectivity from h and AMY to S1. Our study for the first time explored the relationship of involved brain regions with dynamic causal modeling. It provided novel evidence for the feature of the organization of the cortical-limbic network and the alteration caused by acupuncture.

Successful Graded Mirror Therapy in a Patient with Chronic Deafferentation Pain in Whom Traditional Mirror Therapy was Ineffective: A Case Report.

A 43-year-old man had deafferentation pain in his right upper extremity secondary to brachial plexus avulsion from a traffic accident 23 years previously. On our initial examination, he had severe tingling pain with numbness in the right fingers rated 10 on the numerical rating scale. The body perception of the affected third and fourth fingers was distorted in the flexed position. Although he performed traditional mirror therapy (TMT) for 4 weeks in the same methods as seen in previous studies, he could not obtain willed motor imagery and pain-alleviation effect. Therefore, we modified the task of TMT: Graded mirror therapy (GMT). GMT consisted of five stages: (1) observation of the mirror reflection of the unaffected side without imagining any movements of the affected side; (2) observation of the mirror reflection of the third and fourth fingers changing shape gradually adjusted from a flexed position to a extended position; (3) observation of the mirror reflection of passive movement; (4) motor imagery of affected fingers with observation of the mirror reflection (similar to TMT); (5) motor imagery of affected fingers without mirror. Each task was performed for 3 to 4 weeks. As a result, pain intensity during mirror therapy gradually decreased and finally disappeared. The body perception of the affected fingers also improved, and he could imagine the movement of the fingers with or without mirror. We suggested that GMT starting from the observation task without motor imagery may effectively decrease deafferentation pain compared to TMT.

Training with virtual visual feedback to alleviate phantom limb pain.

BACKGROUND: Performing phantom movements with visual virtual feedback, or mirror therapy, is a promising treatment avenue to alleviate phantom limb pain. However the effectiveness of this approach appears to vary from one patient to another. OBJECTIVE: To assess the individual response to training with visual virtual feedback and to explore factors influencing the response to that approach. METHODS: Eight male participants with phantom limb pain (PLP) resulting from either a traumatic upper limb amputation or a brachial plexus avulsion participated in this single case multiple baseline study. Training was performed 2 times per week for 8 weeks where a virtual image of a missing limb performing different movements was presented and the participant was asked to follow the movements with his phantom limb. RESULTS: Patients reported an average 38% decrease in background pain on a visual analog scale (VAS), with 5 patients out of 8 reporting a reduction greater than 30%. This decrease in pain was maintained at 4 weeks postintervention in 4 of the 5 participants. No significant relationship was found between the long-term pain relief and the duration of the deafferentation or with the immediate pain relief during exposure to the feedback. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the use of training with virtual feedback to alleviate phantom limb pain. Our observations suggest that between-participant differences in the effectiveness of the treatment might be related more to a difference in the susceptibility to the virtual visual feedback, than to factors related to the lesion, such as the duration of the deafferentation.

Atypical dystonic shoulder movements following neuralgic amyotrophy.

Peripherally induced movement disorders are relatively rare. Here, we present 3 patients who suffered a lesion of the brachial plexus because of neuralgic amyotrophy and developed involuntary movements of their shoulder muscles. The nature of the involuntary movements, which did not easily comply with classic descriptions of hyperkinetic movement disorders, is probably best referred to as dystonia.

Efficacy of two cannabis based medicinal extracts for relief of central neuropathic pain from brachial plexus avulsion: results of a randomised controlled trial.

The objective was to investigate the effectiveness of cannabis-based medicines for treatment of chronic pain associated with brachial plexus root avulsion. This condition is an excellent human model of central neuropathic pain as it represents an unusually homogenous group in terms of anatomical location of injury, pain descriptions and patient demographics. Forty-eight patients with at least one avulsed root and baseline pain score of four or more on an 11-point ordinate scale participated in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, three period crossover study. All patients had intractable symptoms regardless of current analgesic therapy. Patients entered a baseline period of 2 weeks, followed by three, 2-week treatment periods during each of which they received one of three oromucosal spray preparations. These were placebo and two whole plant extracts of Cannabis sativa L.: GW-1000-02 (Sativex), containing Delta(9)tetrahydrocannabinol (THC):cannabidiol (CBD) in an approximate 1:1 ratio and GW-2000-02, containing primarily THC. The primary outcome measure was the mean pain severity score during the last 7 days of treatment. Secondary outcome measures included pain related quality of life assessments. The primary outcome measure failed to fall by the two points defined in our hypothesis. However, both this measure and measures of sleep showed statistically significant improvements. The study medications were generally well tolerated with the majority of adverse events, including intoxication type reactions, being mild to moderate in severity and resolving spontaneously. Studies of longer duration in neuropathic pain are required to confirm a clinically relevant, improvement in the treatment of this condition.

A focused review on the use of botulinum toxins for neuropathic pain.

Understanding the pathophysiology of a pain syndrome is helpful in selecting appropriate treatment strategies. Nociceptive pain is related to damage to tissues due to thermal, chemical, mechanical, or other types of irritants. Neuropathic pain results from injury to the peripheral or central nervous system. Common examples of neuropathic pain include postherpetic neuralgia, diabetic neuropathy, complex regional pain syndrome, and pain associated with spinal cord injuries. Nociceptive pain may have similar clinical characteristics to neuropathic pain. It is also possible for acute nociceptive pain to become neuropathic in nature, as with myofascial pain syndrome. A clear benefit of botulinum toxin therapy for treatment of neuropathic pain disorders is that it often relieves pain symptoms. Although the precise mechanism of pain relief is not completely understood, the injection of botulinum toxin may reduce various substances that sensitize nociceptors. As a result, botulinum toxin types A and B are now being actively studied in nociceptive and neuropathic pain disorders to better define their roles as analgesics.