PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitation
-
To assess the frequency and spectrum of referrals to rehabilitation disciplines in a concussion clinic population and factors associated with need for referral. ⋯ Relatively little has been described about the typical rehabilitation requirements of individuals recovering from concussion. Although rest and guided return to usual activities have been emphasized as mainstays of management, a large number of patients in this concussion cohort were determined to require additional rehabilitation services to assist in recovery.
-
Chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS) involves a painful increase in compartment pressure caused by exercise and relieved by rest. The most common site for CECS in the lower extremity is the anterior leg compartment. We report a case of a collegiate athlete with bilateral anterior and lateral leg compartment CECS who was successfully treated with an ultrasound-guided, percutaneous needle fascial fenestration of the affected compartments in both legs and was able to return to full, unrestricted activity within 1 week of the procedure. This case highlights the potential application of this procedure for the treatment of anterior and lateral leg CECS.
-
Central poststroke pain is a neuropathic pain syndrome that can occur from pathology of the brain. The case presented is of a woman with multiple comorbidities who was found to have an acute infarct in the left middle and anterior cerebral artery territories. She began to complain of worsening diffuse right upper and lower extremity pain, and central poststroke pain was diagnosed. ⋯ The patient's morbid obesity inspired the use of an adjunct medication protocol of a prednisone taper for proper treatment. After starting this treatment regimen, the patient experienced significant pain relief with eventual resolution. A steroid-based treatment protocol was used successfully in the early stages of central poststroke pain with proper side effect management and may have prevented difficult treatment management in the outpatient setting.
-
This case series describes 3 cases in which ultrasound-guided intercostobrachial perineural injection was used for intercostobrachial neuralgia, a common cause of postmastectomy pain syndrome. All cases had undergone modified radical mastectomy with axillary lymph node dissection for breast cancer. Two cases developed axillary and unilateral chest wall pain. ⋯ In our case series, all patients had pain relief after the intercostobrachial perineural injection. There is a relative dearth of published information on the treatment of postmastectomy pain and more specifically intercostobrachial neuralgia. We review the anatomy of the intercostobrachial nerve and its variants, etiologies of intercostobrachial neuralgia, and current indications and methods of an intercostobrachial perineural injection.