Quality of sexual life in Mexican men after spinal cord injury.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality of sexual life in men with spinal cord injury. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analytical study. PATIENTS: Males with a history of spinal cord injury who attended an outpatient rehabilitation service. METHODS: An analytical study examined adult male patients with complete spinal cord injury in rehabilitation. A modified Sexual Life Quality Questionnaire (SLQQ) examined quality of sexual life, with scores below 50 suggesting significant sexual dysfunction and dissatisfaction. The assessment evaluated age, occupation, marital status, comorbidities, and treatment methods. RESULTS: A total of 80 patients were included; 33 (41%) had a thoracic spinal cord injury, and 47 (59%) had a lumbar spinal cord injury. Thirty-seven patients (46%) were dissatisfied with the quality of their sexual life; 29 patients (88%) with thoracic spinal cord injury and 8 patients (17%) with lumbar spinal cord injury were dissatisfied with the quality of their sexual life (p = 0.001). Patients with higher education level experienced less sexual dissatisfaction (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Human sexuality involves numerous interconnected elements that impact on general health. Sexual pleasure, self-esteem, and personal relationships are crucial for patients with spinal cord injury to identify rehabilitation needs. These results indicate the importance of supporting sexual well-being in recovery. Further studies of sexual enjoyment and quality of life for patients with spinal cord injury are needed, using larger and more diverse populations.

The Benefit of Perineural Injection Treatment with Dextrose for Treatment of Chondromalacia Patella in Participants Receiving Home Physical Therapy: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial.

Introduction: Chondromalacia patella is the degeneration of articular cartilage on the posterior facet of the patella and may indicate the onset of osteoarthritis. Conservative management is the main treatment option, and surgical intervention is considered the last option in a small percentage of patients. Perineural Injection Treatment (PIT) is a recently developed treatment option that is directed adjacent to the peripheral nerves that are the source of pathology causing neurogenic inflammation and pain. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of PIT combined with a home physical therapy program in patients with a diagnosis of chondromalacia patella compared with a control group receiving physical therapy only. Methods: Two patient groups were involved in this randomized clinical trial. The first received PIT combined with physical therapy (PIT + PT group) and the second was managed with physical therapy alone (PT group). Both groups were indicated to follow a 6-week home therapy plan afterward. The Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index was used to assess the patients at baseline and 6 months after therapy interventions. Results: Fifty patients (38 women and 12 men, median age 54.7 ± 14.8 years) were included; sex distribution and age did not differ between groups. Both groups had chondromalacia grade II or III, but the degree of gonarthrosis did not differ significantly between groups. The PIT + PT group outperformed PT group for pain (7.3 ± 3.5 vs. 3.2 ± 2.9 points; p < 0.010), stiffness (3 ± 1.69 vs. 1.6 ± 1.5 points; p < 0.010), and functional capacity (23.2 ± 10.7 vs. 11.1 ± 8.9 points; p < 0.010). Conclusions: Compared with physical therapy alone, PIT plus physical therapy reduced pain and stiffness and restored functional capacity. ClinicalTrials.gov Register Number #NCT03515720.