Background Writer＇s cramp is a type of task specific idiopathic focal dystonia and has an incompletely understood pathophysiology. The present study utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI） to investig...Background Writer＇s cramp is a type of task specific idiopathic focal dystonia and has an incompletely understood pathophysiology. The present study utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI） to investigate what type of brain activity correlates with writer＇s cramp and its physiological mechanism.Methods Ten patients with writer＇s cramp were age and gender matched with ten nealthy control suojects in a block design. Subjectswere scanned by fMRI while performing three consecutive, visually instructive, tasks with MR Vision 2000： （1） suppositional writing, （2） writing with finger and （3） writing with a pencil. Data was analysed using AFNI software for groups of patients and controls.Results The patients with writer＇s cramp showed significant activations of contralateral basal ganglion （especially the putamen）, motor cortex （primary sensorimotor cortex, supplementary motor cortex, premotor cortex） and ipsilateral cerebellar hemisphere in writing with a pencil compared with controls; whereas there was no obvious difference between patients and controls during writing with finger. Furthermore, these differences exist in the stibtractive activated maps for ＂writing with a pencil＂ minus ＂writing with finger＂ of patients, when the activation of subcortical area and insula in controls disappeared.Conclusions Abnormal activations of contralateral basal ganglion, motor cortex and ipsilateral cerebellar hemisphere of the patients with writer＇s cramp suggest dysfunction of basal ganglion and subcortical-cortical loop might play a pathophysiological role in writer＇s cramp.展开更多
We identified that oncological treatments in general (chemotherapies, immunotherapies and radiotherapies) frequently cause peripheral neuropathy, including cramps, characterized by excess protons due to metabolic and ...We identified that oncological treatments in general (chemotherapies, immunotherapies and radiotherapies) frequently cause peripheral neuropathy, including cramps, characterized by excess protons due to metabolic and neuronal factors, such as sudden changes in pH, uremia and aspects that affect neuromotor functions. Such situations and others like them are often neglected in treatment, which naturally concerns itself with the main problem: Cancer. Sometimes toxic solutions are implemented that have comorbid side effects, such as duloxetine (standard treatment). Based on monitoring of cancer patients who used the non-toxic product, called “Magicramp® Electrostatic Charge Reduction Cushion” (MECRC), approved in Europe more than 10 years ago, we carried out a controlled test in Brazil. In this clinical trial, we hypothesized that reducing excessive ionic charges (electrostatic charge), which is one of the side effects often described in the literature as “Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy” (CIPN), would decrease or eliminate cramping, under the hypothesis that such elimination would prevent or attenuate muscular vulnerability to action impulses, and increase the power of relaxation through the same mechanism. In this double-blind and randomized clinical trial, 40 (forty) adult patients with muscle cramps caused by oncological treatments were tested, evaluating the degree of efficiency of the product that aims to reduce muscle cramps, by eliminating and/or reducing excess loads electrostatic ionic. Data from the clinical research conducted in this study are available online at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/QUS94U.展开更多
Objective:This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Buerger-Allen exercise(BAE)in reducing muscle cramps among recently extubated patients in the intensive care unit(ICU).Materials and Methods:A quantitative,q...Objective:This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Buerger-Allen exercise(BAE)in reducing muscle cramps among recently extubated patients in the intensive care unit(ICU).Materials and Methods:A quantitative,quasi-experimental design was employed,involving 92 recently extubated ICU patients randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group.The experimental group underwent BAE,a three-step intervention targeting lower extremity circulation and muscle cramp reduction.The exercises included the elevation of lower extremities,foot and leg exercises,and a rest and recovery phase,administered twice daily for 10 days.The control group received standard nursing care without any specific exercise regimen.Muscle cramp severity was assessed using the modified Penn Spasm Frequency Scale before and after the intervention.Results:The experimental group showed a significant reduction in muscle cramp severity score postintervention,with the mean scores decreasing from 6.83±1.66 to 4.22±1.45(t=10.21,P=0.001).The control group experienced a smaller reduction,with scores decreasing from 6.98±1.57 to 6.43±1.37(t=2.810,P=0.007).Between-group analysis confirmed a significant difference postintervention,with the experimental group improving more(t=8.242,P=0.001).The Mann–Whitney U test also highlighted a significant difference between groups after the intervention(U=494.5,P=0.001),validating the effectiveness of BAE.Conclusion:BAE significantly reduces muscle cramp severity in recently extubated ICU patients,suggesting that this nonpharmacological intervention can effectively improve patient outcomes and aid in postextubation recovery.展开更多
Anecdotal evidence supports the use of Bacrobial skin cleanser for preventing muscle cramps; however, empirical evidence is lacking. OBJECTIVE： To examine whether Bacrobial prevents muscle cramping in the triceps sur...Anecdotal evidence supports the use of Bacrobial skin cleanser for preventing muscle cramps; however, empirical evidence is lacking. OBJECTIVE： To examine whether Bacrobial prevents muscle cramping in the triceps surae. DESIGN： Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. SETTINGS/LOCATION： Laboratory. SUBJECTS： Seventeen cramp-prone participants （11 male, 6 female; age 21 -4- 2 yrs; 79.72 - 19.75 kg; 175.86 - 11.76 cm） volunteered. INTERVENTION： Participants completed two trials, at least one week apart. On the ftrst trial, Bacrobial was liberally applied to the skin over the triceps surae musculature of one leg, while placebo was applied to the other leg. At 1, 5, 10, and 20 min after application, participants were instructed to induce a cramp in the triceps surae via maximal voluntary contraction. For the second trial, treatments were applied to the opposite leg as in trial one and the cramping procedure was repeated. OUTCOME MEASURES： Incidence of cramping was the main outcome measure and event-odds tables, risk reduction and NNT （numbers needed to treat） or NNH （numbers needed to harm） were calculated at the time intervals of 1, 5, 10 and 20 minutes. RESULTS： No significant differences between treatments were found in cramping incidences at all time intervals. Bacrobial decreased the risk of cramping by 12.5% at one minute （NNT = 8）, while causing a 5.3% increased risk at five minutes （NNH = 5.3）. CONCLUSIONS： Our findings indicate Bacrobial skin cleanser is not an overall effective treatment for muscle cramp prevention. However, the observed results at one minute may be useful to clinicians who treat cramp-prone patients.展开更多
文摘Background Writer＇s cramp is a type of task specific idiopathic focal dystonia and has an incompletely understood pathophysiology. The present study utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI） to investigate what type of brain activity correlates with writer＇s cramp and its physiological mechanism.Methods Ten patients with writer＇s cramp were age and gender matched with ten nealthy control suojects in a block design. Subjectswere scanned by fMRI while performing three consecutive, visually instructive, tasks with MR Vision 2000： （1） suppositional writing, （2） writing with finger and （3） writing with a pencil. Data was analysed using AFNI software for groups of patients and controls.Results The patients with writer＇s cramp showed significant activations of contralateral basal ganglion （especially the putamen）, motor cortex （primary sensorimotor cortex, supplementary motor cortex, premotor cortex） and ipsilateral cerebellar hemisphere in writing with a pencil compared with controls; whereas there was no obvious difference between patients and controls during writing with finger. Furthermore, these differences exist in the stibtractive activated maps for ＂writing with a pencil＂ minus ＂writing with finger＂ of patients, when the activation of subcortical area and insula in controls disappeared.Conclusions Abnormal activations of contralateral basal ganglion, motor cortex and ipsilateral cerebellar hemisphere of the patients with writer＇s cramp suggest dysfunction of basal ganglion and subcortical-cortical loop might play a pathophysiological role in writer＇s cramp.
文摘We identified that oncological treatments in general (chemotherapies, immunotherapies and radiotherapies) frequently cause peripheral neuropathy, including cramps, characterized by excess protons due to metabolic and neuronal factors, such as sudden changes in pH, uremia and aspects that affect neuromotor functions. Such situations and others like them are often neglected in treatment, which naturally concerns itself with the main problem: Cancer. Sometimes toxic solutions are implemented that have comorbid side effects, such as duloxetine (standard treatment). Based on monitoring of cancer patients who used the non-toxic product, called “Magicramp® Electrostatic Charge Reduction Cushion” (MECRC), approved in Europe more than 10 years ago, we carried out a controlled test in Brazil. In this clinical trial, we hypothesized that reducing excessive ionic charges (electrostatic charge), which is one of the side effects often described in the literature as “Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy” (CIPN), would decrease or eliminate cramping, under the hypothesis that such elimination would prevent or attenuate muscular vulnerability to action impulses, and increase the power of relaxation through the same mechanism. In this double-blind and randomized clinical trial, 40 (forty) adult patients with muscle cramps caused by oncological treatments were tested, evaluating the degree of efficiency of the product that aims to reduce muscle cramps, by eliminating and/or reducing excess loads electrostatic ionic. Data from the clinical research conducted in this study are available online at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/QUS94U.
文摘Objective:This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Buerger-Allen exercise(BAE)in reducing muscle cramps among recently extubated patients in the intensive care unit(ICU).Materials and Methods:A quantitative,quasi-experimental design was employed,involving 92 recently extubated ICU patients randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group.The experimental group underwent BAE,a three-step intervention targeting lower extremity circulation and muscle cramp reduction.The exercises included the elevation of lower extremities,foot and leg exercises,and a rest and recovery phase,administered twice daily for 10 days.The control group received standard nursing care without any specific exercise regimen.Muscle cramp severity was assessed using the modified Penn Spasm Frequency Scale before and after the intervention.Results:The experimental group showed a significant reduction in muscle cramp severity score postintervention,with the mean scores decreasing from 6.83±1.66 to 4.22±1.45(t=10.21,P=0.001).The control group experienced a smaller reduction,with scores decreasing from 6.98±1.57 to 6.43±1.37(t=2.810,P=0.007).Between-group analysis confirmed a significant difference postintervention,with the experimental group improving more(t=8.242,P=0.001).The Mann–Whitney U test also highlighted a significant difference between groups after the intervention(U=494.5,P=0.001),validating the effectiveness of BAE.Conclusion:BAE significantly reduces muscle cramp severity in recently extubated ICU patients,suggesting that this nonpharmacological intervention can effectively improve patient outcomes and aid in postextubation recovery.
文摘Anecdotal evidence supports the use of Bacrobial skin cleanser for preventing muscle cramps; however, empirical evidence is lacking. OBJECTIVE： To examine whether Bacrobial prevents muscle cramping in the triceps surae. DESIGN： Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. SETTINGS/LOCATION： Laboratory. SUBJECTS： Seventeen cramp-prone participants （11 male, 6 female; age 21 -4- 2 yrs; 79.72 - 19.75 kg; 175.86 - 11.76 cm） volunteered. INTERVENTION： Participants completed two trials, at least one week apart. On the ftrst trial, Bacrobial was liberally applied to the skin over the triceps surae musculature of one leg, while placebo was applied to the other leg. At 1, 5, 10, and 20 min after application, participants were instructed to induce a cramp in the triceps surae via maximal voluntary contraction. For the second trial, treatments were applied to the opposite leg as in trial one and the cramping procedure was repeated. OUTCOME MEASURES： Incidence of cramping was the main outcome measure and event-odds tables, risk reduction and NNT （numbers needed to treat） or NNH （numbers needed to harm） were calculated at the time intervals of 1, 5, 10 and 20 minutes. RESULTS： No significant differences between treatments were found in cramping incidences at all time intervals. Bacrobial decreased the risk of cramping by 12.5% at one minute （NNT = 8）, while causing a 5.3% increased risk at five minutes （NNH = 5.3）. CONCLUSIONS： Our findings indicate Bacrobial skin cleanser is not an overall effective treatment for muscle cramp prevention. However, the observed results at one minute may be useful to clinicians who treat cramp-prone patients.
