Percutaneous peripheral nerve stimulation for treatment of shoulder pain after spinal cord injury: A case report.

Context: This describes the first person with spinal cord injury (SCI) treated with percutaneous peripheral nerve stimulation for chronic shoulder pain.

Findings: From baseline to one-week after treatment, the subject's worst pain in the last week, rated on a 0-10 numerical rating scale (BPI-SF3), decreased by 44%. Pain interference decreased and remained below baseline 12 weeks after the end of treatment.

Upper Extremity Assessment in Tetraplegia: The Importance of Differentiating Between Upper and Lower Motor Neuron Paralysis.

Scientific advances are increasing the options for improved upper limb function in people with cervical level spinal cord injury (SCI). Some of these interventions rely on identifying an aspect of paralysis that is not uniformly assessed in SCI: the integrity of the lower motor neuron (LMN). SCI can damage both the upper motor neuron and LMN causing muscle paralysis.

Redesign of a spine board: Proof of concept evaluation.

Sacral pressure ulcers are a significant problem in individuals following spinal cord injury (SCI) and are felt to be in part due to the high interface-pressures applied to the body while lying on a standard spine board (SSB) during emergency transport. The aim of the present study was to assess the interface pressures and sensing areas between the body and the SSB and two proof of concept spine board prototypes (P-1 and P-2). Ten able-bodied individuals were assessed on each board.

Early Predictors of Functional Outcome After Trauma.

Background: Despite the availability of routinely collected trauma data, researchers who investigate rehabilitation outcomes, functional evaluation, and comparative effectiveness have not incorporated this potentially clinically meaningful information in their modeling as predictors or adjustors.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify variables from the scene of a traumatic accident and from the emergency department that can be used in assessing functional outcomes of persons who survive trauma.

Design: Prospective study.

The Effect of a Liner on the Dispersion of Sacral Interface Pressures During Spinal Immobilization.

Sacral pressure ulcers are a significant problem following spinal cord injury and are felt to be in part due to the high interface-pressures generated while strapped to the spine board. The objective of this study was to determine sacral interface-pressure and sensing area in healthy volunteers on a spine board and the effects of a gel pressure dispersion liner. Thirty-seven volunteers were placed on a pressure-sensing mat between the subject and the spine board.

Preventive health care among community-dwelling persons with spinal cord injury.

Objective: To describe preventive health examinations/tests and behaviors of persons with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design: Survey.

Setting: SCI clinic and telephone contact.

A descriptive study on vitamin D levels in individuals with spinal cord injury in an acute inpatient rehabilitation setting.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of inadequate or severely deficient levels of vitamin D in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation service and to describe any associations between patient demographics and injury characteristics and vitamin D levels.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Setting: Academic inpatient SCI rehabilitation program.