American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation
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Cervical radiculopathy can be diagnosed on physical examination with the Spurling test, which narrows neural foramina via neck extension along with coupled rotation and side-bending. In the presence of cervical radiculopathy, this test can reproduce radicular symptoms by transmitting compressive forces to affected nerve roots as they traverse the neural foramina. Treatment of cervical radiculopathy includes patient education to avoid obvious postures that exacerbate radicular symptoms and to assume positions that centralize discomfort. ⋯ When the stylist then also applies a mild compressive force while shampooing the patient's hair, hyperextension of the neck is produced. We present two patients with cervical radiculopathy that was significantly exacerbated after the patient's hair had been shampooed in a salon sink; subsequently, these patients required oral administration of steroids. These cases illustrate that patients with suspected or known cervical radiculopathy should be forewarned to avoid this otherwise seemingly innocuous activity.
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Am J Phys Med Rehabil · Jul 1999
Comparative StudyLateral femoral cutaneous nerve conduction v somatosensory evoked potentials for electrodiagnosis of meralgia paresthetica.
The aim of this study is to compare sensory nerve conduction with somatosensory evoked potentials of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve to determine which is the most reliable electrodiagnostic method to assess meralgia paresthetica. Thirty patients with unilateral clinically defined meralgia paresthetica and 30 controls were studied with both methods. ⋯ Overall, this study demonstrates that sensory nerve conduction is the more reliable method for meralgia paresthetica electrodiagnosis. In fact, only very serious nerve damage regularly induces abnormal somatosensory evoked potentials, which is not recommended for routine electrodiagnostic study of meralgia paresthetica.