UPPER LIMB NERVE ENTRAPMENTS IN ELITE WHEELCHAIR RACERS1
作者:
Boninger2 Michael,
Robertson Rick,
Wolff Michael,
Cooper Rory,
期刊:
American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
(OVID Available online 1996)
卷期:
Volume 75,
issue 3
页码: 170-176
ISSN:0894-9115
年代: 1996
出版商: OVID
关键词: Nerve Compression Syndromes;Sports;Spinal Cord Injuries;Wheelchairs;Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
数据来源: OVID
摘要:
The prevalence of upper limb nerve injuries has been reported to be as high as 73% in individuals who rely on manual wheelchairs for mobility. Many authors hypothesize that the repetitive trauma to carpal canal structures caused by propelling a wheelchair is the reason for this high prevalence. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of nerve conduction abnormalities in a group of elite wheelchair racers whose wrists are exposed to additional propulsion-related trauma during training and competition. We performed bilateral upper limb nerve conduction studies on each athlete (n= 12). The racers pushed their chairs an average of 56 miles a week for training purposes. Fifty percent of the athletes (n= 6) had evidence of median mononeuropathy by nerve conduction. Of these 6 racers, 5 had evidence of mononeuropathy bilaterally, making a total of 11 positive hands of the 23 tested. Twenty-five percent of the athletes had evidence of ulnar mononeuropathy at the wrist, and 25% had evidence of ulnar mononeuropathy at the elbow. Seventeen percent of athletes had evidence of radial nerve injury. Years with a disability accounted for a significant amount of the variance in the mean median sensory amplitude (R2= 0.511;P= 0.020) and the mean ulnar palmar amplitude (R2= 0.605;P= 0.008). Variables not correlated with nerve conduction studies include age, hours per day in a wheelchair not spent training, years competing, and number of miles pushed in training. Despite the amount of time spent training, these wheelchair athletes have a similar or lower prevalence of median mononeuropathy then reported in the general wheelchair-using population.
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