Cerebral Adaptation Associated with Peripheral Nerve Recovery in Neuralgic Amyotrophy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Neuralgic amyotrophy (NA) is a common peripheral nerve disorder caused by auto-immune inflammation of nerves in the brachial plexus territory, characterized by acute pain and weakness of the shoulder muscles, followed by motor impairment. Recent work has confirmed that NA patients with residual motor dysfunction have abnormal cerebral sensorimotor representations of their affected upper extremity. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether abnormal cerebral sensorimotor representations associated with NA can be altered by specialized, multidisciplinary outpatient rehabilitation focused on relearning motor control. METHODS: 27 NA patients with residual lateralized symptoms in the right upper extremity participated in a randomized controlled trial, comparing 17 weeks of multidisciplinary rehabilitation (n = 16) to usual care (n = 11). We used task-based functional MRI and a hand laterality judgment task, which involves motor imagery and is sensitive to altered cerebral sensorimotor representations of the upper extremity. RESULTS: Change in task performance and related brain activity did not differ significantly between the multidisciplinary rehabilitation and usual care groups, whereas the multidisciplinary rehabilitation group showed significantly greater clinical improvement on the Shoulder Rating Questionnaire. Both groups, however, showed a significant improvement in task performance from baseline to follow-up, and significantly increased activity in visuomotor occipito-parietal brain areas, both specific to their affected upper extremity. CONCLUSIONS: Abnormal cerebral sensorimotor representations of the upper extremity after peripheral nerve damage in NA can recover toward normality. As adaptations occurred in visuomotor brain areas, multidisciplinary rehabilitation after peripheral nerve damage may be further optimized by applying visuomotor strategies. This study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03441347).

The Role of Positional Release Therapy in Treating Recalcitrant Brachial Plexus Neuritis: A Case Report.

A 17-year-old female soccer player presented with severe right shoulder pain and scapular winging due to brachial plexus neuritis. The patient was diagnosed with Parsonage-Turner syndrome, a rare condition often resistant to traditional physical therapy, which typically persists for 6 months to years, at times requiring surgical intervention. Over the course of 6 weeks, the patient received positional release therapy once a week coupled with electrical modalities, massage, and a daily home exercise program. This case report is unique because we believe we were the first to use positional release therapy for treatment and the patient's condition resolved more quickly than is typically reported.

Daño neurológico perioperatorio. Identificación de factores de riesgo, prevención y estudios relacionados / Perioperative nerve injury. Risk factor identification, prevention and work-up

BACKGROUND: Regional anesthesia techniques can have adverse effects, like peripheral nerve injuries. This can affect the practitioner on the choice of techniques when offering multimodal analgesia. CASE REPORT: We present the case of an arthroscopic rotator cuff repair on a patient with no comorbidities who presented peripheral nerve injury during post-op. Initially thought to have occurred as a consequence of the anesthetic technique, further study of the patient revealed the injuries to have been produced by the arthroscopic surgery. CONCLUSION: There are multiple factors that influence the possibility of peripheral nerve injury associated with nerve blocks. They can be grouped as related to the patient, the anesthetic technique or the surgical technique, the latter being the most relevant. If a patient manifests signs of peripheral nerve injury high-resolution magnetic resonance of the neural tissue must be performed immediately. Sensory nerve conduction study and electromyography must be performed 4 weeks after by an expert neurologist.

INTRODUCCIÓN: La anestesia regional puede producir como efecto adverso lesiones de nervios periféricos, lo que puede hacer desistir al anestesiólogo de realizar técnicas que mejoran la analgesia multimodal. CASO CLÍNICO: Se presenta el caso de un paciente sin comorbilidades que se operó de reparación artroscópica del manguito rotador y presentó daño neurológico postoperatorio. Inicialmente se sospechó que el daño había sido producido durante la técnica anestésica, sin embargo, el estudio adecuado demostró que el daño se relacionaba con la técnica quirúrgica. CONCLUSIÓN: Existen factores que influyen en la posibilidad de daño neurológico asociado a bloqueos de nervios periféricos que pueden ser propios del paciente, de la técnica anestésica o quirúrgicos, siendo estos últimos los más relevantes. En un paciente con clínica compatible debe realizarse resonancia magnética del tejido neural de alta resolución de forma inmediata; estudio de conducción neural sensitiva y electromiografía a las 4 semanas de evolución por un neurólogo experto.

Eficacia de medicamentos antihomotóxicos en el tratamientodel síndrome miofascial cervical y de cintura escapular: estudio comparativo versus toxina botulínica tipo A / Efficacy of antihomotoxic medicine in treatment of cervical miofascial síndrome and shoulder girdle: comparative study versus botulinum toxin type A

Introducción: El síndrome de dolor miofascial es una causa común de dolor muscular en región cervical y cintura escapular. El tratamiento ha incluido medios conservadores y procedimientos invasivos; los medios conservadores incluyen fármacos, modalidades de terapia física, masaje y ejercicio terapéutico; los procedimientos invasivos incluyen punción seca e inyecciones en los puntos gatillo de diversas sustancias como toxina botulínica tipo A, esteroides, anestésicos locales e incluso se ha reportado eficacia con la inyección de medicamentos homeopáticos complejos conocidos como medicamentos antihomotóxicos. Objetivo: Comparar la eficacia de las inyecciones intramusculares en puntos gatillo, usando toxina botulínica tipo A versus medicamentos antihomotóxicos. Materiales y métodos: Se realizó un estudio experimental, longitudinal, prospectivo, aleatorizado y ciego, tipo ensayo clínico controlado, que incluyó 31 pacientes con diagnóstico de síndrome miofascial de región cervical y cintura escapular, divididos en 3 grupos; cada grupo recibió inyecciones intramusculares en puntos gatillo. Un grupo fue tratado con toxina botulínica tipo A con una dosis de 10 U por punto gatillo, otro grupo se trató con una combinación de medicamentos antihomotóxicos que incluyó una mezcla de Traumeel(R) S, Spascupreel Traumeel(R), Gels Homaccord Traumeel(R) y Lymphomyosot Traumeel(R) a razón de 1 ml de esta combinación por punto gatillo; el tercer grupo recibió tratamiento placebo con solución salina al 0,9 % a razón de 1 ml por punto gatillo. A los tres grupos se les evaluó arcos de movilidad, fuerza muscular, intensidad del dolor con la EVA, número de puntos gatillo e índice de discapacidad del cuello al inicio del tratamiento y a las 6 semanas. Resultados: Se observó una disminución del dolor y del número de puntos gatillo en los 3 grupos, sin embargo solo fue estadísticamente significativa en el grupo tratado con medicamentos antihomotóxicos. Conclusiones: El uso de medicamentos antihomotóxcos aplicados mediante inyección intramuscular en los puntos gatillo puede ser una opción de tratamiento eficaz en pacientes con síndrome doloroso miofascial cervical

Introduction: Myofascial pain syndrome is a common cause of muscle pain in cervical region and shoulder girdle. Treatment has included conservative means and invasive procedures; conservative means include drugs, modalities of physical therapy, massage and therapeutic exercise; Invasive procedures include dry nedling and trigger point injections of various substances such as botulinum toxin type A, steroids and local anesthetics and even has been reported effective with the injection of complex homeopathic medicines known as antihomotoxic drugs. Objective: To compare the effectiveness of the intramuscular injections in trigger points using a Botulinum toxin type A versus antihomotóxic drugs. Materials and methods: We conducted a pilot study, longitudinal, prospective, randomized and blind, type controlled clinical trial, which included 31 patients with diagnosis of myofascial syndrome of cervical region and shoulder girdle, divided in 3 groups; each group received intramuscular injections in trigger points. One group was treated with botulinum toxin type A with a dose of 10U by trigger point, another group was treated with a combination of antihomotoxic drugs that included a mixture of Traumeel(R) S, Spascupreel Traumeel(R), Gels Homaccord(R) y Lymphomyosot Traumeel(R) at a rate of 1 ml of this combination by trigger point; the third group received placebo treatment with saline solution at 0.9 % at the rate of 1 ml. for trigger point. The three groups were evaluated mobility, muscular strength, pain intensity with EVA, number of trigger points and disability index of the neck at the start of treatment and at 6 weeks. Results: It was observed a decrease of pain and the number of trigger points in the 3 groups, however it was only statistically significant in the group treated with antihomotoxic drugs. Conclusions: The use of antihomotoxic drugs applied by intramuscular injection in the trigger points can be an effective treatment option in patients with cervical myofascial pain síndrome

Onset of complications following cervical manipulation due to malpractice in osteopathic treatment: a case report.

The aim of this study is to correlate cervical disc herniation with manipulation performed by a non-physician osteopath on a patient complaining of neck pain. The authors report a case in which a woman - treated with osteopathic spinal manipulation - developed cervical-brachial neuralgia following the cervical disc herniation. The patient then underwent surgery and was followed by physiotherapists. A clinical condition characterized by limitation of neck mobility, with pain and sensory deficit in the right arm and II-III fingers, still persists. The patient consulted the authors to establish whether cervical disc herniation could be attributed to manipulation. Adverse events or side effects of spinal manipulative therapy are relatively common and usually benign. Most of these side effects are mild or moderate, but sometimes they can be severe. Cervical manipulation can provoke complications less often than thoracic or lumbar manipulation. Furthermore, many diseases can be absolutely and relatively contraindicated to osteopathic treatment. Therefore, the knowledge of a patient's clinical conditions is essential before starting a manipulative treatment; otherwise the osteopath could be accused of malpractice. It is the authors' opinion that a cause-effect relationship exists between the manipulative treatment and the development of disc herniation.

[Complications following vertebral manipulation-a survey of a French region physicians]. / Evaluation de la fréquence des accidents liés aux manipulations vertébrales à partir d'une enquête rétrospective réalisée dans quatre départements français.

INTRODUCTION: Recent studies have emphasized the incidence and the general underestimation in literature of spinal manipulation (SM) linked accident. The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency and the incidence of strokes, myelopathies, radiculopathies or osteoarticular accidents in a major French area. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We made a survey among 240 neurologists, neurosurgeons, rhumatologists and physicians concerning the number of accidents observed during the preceding two years. RESULTS: We obtained a response from 133 physicians and 93 cases of complication were reported. Most of these complications were radiculopathies (69%). Approximatively 50% occurred at the cervical level, less than 24 hours after SM with or without sligth aftereffects in 68%. The incidence of vertebro-basilar accidents was 30 times higher than in published series. CONCLUSION: Spinal manipulations should remain under very strict medical control. Physicians who practice SM should be able to choose the manual treatment and perform it themselves in order to minimize risks of complications, especially at the cervical level.

[Prospective study of the long-term effectiveness of inpatient rehabilitation of patients with chronic cervicobrachial syndromes and the effect of prescribing special functional pillows]. / Prospektive Studie über die Langzeitwirksamkeit stationärer Heilverfahren bei Patienten mit chronischen Zervikobrachialsyndromen und zum Effekt einer zusätzlichen Verordnung spezieller Funktionskopfkissen.

In order to investigate the long-term effect of clinical rehabilitation measures as well as the additional effect of prescription of a special pillow in patients suffering from chronic cervicobrachialgia a total of 149 patients was investigated. All patients suffered from chronic cervicobrachialgia and were admitted for rehabilitative treatment in the orthopaedic Elfenmaar-Klinik of Bad Bertrich. For a four-week period the patients were treated with physical therapy including gymnastics, electrotherapy, thermotherapy, and massage. Additionally they underwent a health-promoting programme specially designed for patients with spondylopathia. The patients were randomly divided into two groups, one receiving a special pillow (Curavario, Pala-Medic-Company) for the use during and after the rehabilitative treatment (n = 76 or n = 73, respectively). For two weeks before the treatment, during the four-week treatment period and for two weeks after the treatment the patients had to fill in a questionnaire, comprising among others six questions on the intensity of their cervicobrachialgic symptoms (pain-intensity [local pain, radiation of pain], muscular tenseness, paraesthesia and sleep disorders [caused by pain or paraesthesia]). Three, six, and nine month after the treatment period the patients received a similar questionnaire. Immediately after the treatment period a significant reduction of mean pain intensity and muscle tenseness (p < 0.001; Rep.-Mes.-ANOVA) was found. At the same time significantly lower frequencies of pain radiation and sleep disorders caused by pain or paraesthesia (p < 0.001; chi-square-test) were found. During the following nine months the intensity of the symptoms slightly re-increased, however, all parameters were still reduced nine months after treatment compared to the values before treatment (p < 0.01). Before and during the treatment no difference between the two groups could be detected, however, the follow-up showed significantly lower scores of pain intensity (p < 0.05; Student-t-test) and sleep disorders (p < 0.01; chi-square test) in the patients who had received the special pillow. It is concluded that the rehabilitative treatment is effective in patients suffering from chronic cervicobrachialgia and that the complaints in the post-treatment period can be reduced by prescription of special pillows.

Clinical observations on 278 cases of cervical spondylopathy treated with electroacupuncture and massotherapy.

From Dec. 1990 to Dec. 1993, 278 cases of cervical spondylopathy were treated with electroacupuncture and massotherapy. The cure rate was 82.7%; but in the control group, it was only 61%, indicating that electroacupuncture may enhance the cure rate (P < 0.05). Of the 278 cases treated by three to five sessions, the pain and numbness disappeared in about 96% of the patients.

Selenium status in females with occupational cervico-brachial complaints.

A hypothesis that selenium deficiency predisposes the development of occupational cervicobrachial complaints was tested in 134 females working in an assembly factory, with constrained work postures and repetitive work tasks. Seventeen subjects, who reported intake of selenium tablets, had higher plasma selenium levels than the others (104 vs 89 micrograms/l, P = 0.01). Among those who did not take selenium tablets, 21% reported symptoms from the upper back during the last 7d, 21% from the neck, 38% from the shoulders, 15% from the elbows, and 27% from the hands. Subjects with pain in their elbows had slightly, but significantly, lower plasma selenium levels than asymptomatics (84 vs 90 micrograms/l, P = 0.048). For the other anatomical regions, there were no statistically significant differences. Thus, there was no major association between selenium status and pain; conclusions regarding any minor association must await further studies.

[Chiropractic management of the cervical syndrome in oto-rhino-laryngology (author's transl)]. / Chirotherapie der cervicalen Syndrome in der Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heikunde.

The pathogenesis of the cervical syndrome as seen in the speciality of Oto-rhino-laryngology is explained, and the possibility for its successful treatment through chiropractic medicine is described.