American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation
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Am J Phys Med Rehabil · Nov 1997
Electrophysiologic evaluation of autonomic function in cerebral palsy.
The presence of clinical autonomic dysfunction in patients with neurologic diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and cerebrovascular accident, has become increasingly recognized in the past decade. Very few autonomic tests have been done on pediatric patients thus far. The purpose of this study was to investigate the autonomic function in patients with cerebral palsy using two noninvasive tests: sympathetic skin response (SSR) and R-R interval variation (RRIV). ⋯ Significant negative correlation between heart rate and age was noted in the control group but was not present in the study group. Also, there was no statistical difference of mean RRIV between the two groups. No objective evidence of autonomic disturbance in patients with cerebral palsy was found in this study.
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Am J Phys Med Rehabil · Nov 1997
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialThe immediate effectiveness of electrical nerve stimulation and electrical muscle stimulation on myofascial trigger points.
This study is designed to investigate the immediate effectiveness of electrotherapy on myofascial trigger points of upper trapezius muscle. Sixty patients (25 males and 35 females) who had myofascial trigger points in one side of the upper trapezius muscles were studied. The involved upper trapezius muscles were treated with three different methods according to a random assignment: group A muscles (n = 18) were given placebo treatment (control group); group B muscles (n = 20) were treated with electrical nerve stimulation (ENS) therapy; and group C muscles (n = 22) were given electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) therapy. ⋯ It could reduce PI significantly more (P < 0.05) than placebo controls only for the subgroup with mild to moderate pain, but not with severe pain. For pain relief, ENS was significantly better (P < 0.05) than EMS; but for the improvement of ROM, EMS was significantly better (P < 0.05) than ENS. It is concluded that ENS is more effective for immediate relief of myofascial trigger point pain than EMS, and EMS has a better effect on immediate release of muscle tightness than ENS.