OBJECTIVE To analyse the influence of chronic pain on muscle strength. DESIGN Muscle strength of patients with unilateral nonspecific chronic pain, in an upper or lower limb, were measured according to a standardized protocol using a hand-held dynamometer. Before and after muscle strength measurement, a visual analogue scale for pain intensity was assessed. RESULTS Forty patients were measu...

BACKGROUND Repetitive and stressful work tasks have been linked to the development of pain in the trapezius muscle, although the underlying mechanisms still remain unclear. In earlier studies, it has been hypothesized that chronic muscle pain conditions are associated with imbalance in the autonomic nervous system, predominantly expressed as an increased sympathetic activity. This study investi...

background the most common complications during dialysis are hypotension and muscle cramps. there are many strategies to prevent and treat these complications. objectives the aim of this study is to evaluate effects of vitamin e and l-carnitine supplementation alone and in combination on intradialytic complications. patients and methods in a prospective study, 20 patients with end stage renal d...

scleromyxedema is a rare, chronic, progressive, fibromucinous disorder of unknown etiology, characterized by lichenoid waxy papules and firm induration of skin of trunk, face, forearm and hands; fibroblast proliferation and mucin deposition in the upper dermis. cutaneous involvement is characteristic but there are several associated systemic manifestations: we observed a case of scleromyxedema ...

Skeletal muscle abnormalities are highly prevalent in chronic heart failure and are associated with an increase in the ergoreflex, a muscle reflex stimulated by work done. Stimulation of the ergoreflex results in increased ventilation and contributes to the increased sympathetic activation of the heart failure syndrome. The origin of the skeletal myopathy is related to a chronic imbalance betwe...

The syndrome of chronic heart failure is characterized by exercise limitation usually associated with breathlessness or fatigue. The mechanism by which this exercise intolerance is generated remains unclear. Although muscular atrophy has been recognised as a part of the chronic heart failure syndrome for many years'" only recently has skeletal muscle been studied in any detail. Widespread abnor...

OBJECTIVE Dynamometric trunk muscle strength and endurance tests are performed widely within the rehabilitation management of chronic low back pain. The aim of this study was to examine the accuracy and long-term reliability of these measurements in patients with chronic low back pain. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SUBJECTS Thirty-two patients with chronic low back pain, 19 healthy controls...

Latissimus dorsi muscle (LDM) regional blood flows were determined in anesthetized goats by using colored microspheres under noncontracting and contracting conditions, either before or after 8-10 wk of chronic muscle stimulation. Surgical dissection of the LDM, leaving only the thoracodorsal artery to supply the muscle, did not alter regional noncontracting blood flows but significantly reduced...