Biomedical subjects

Miriam Faes

Publications and source records attributed to Miriam Faes.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Dynamic extensor brace for lateral epicondylitis.

UNLABELLED: Lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) is a common, often disabling ailment. Based on the failure of current therapies, a new dynamic extensor brace has been developed. In this study, the effects of application of this brace for 3 months on the most important and disabling symptoms of patients with lateral epicondylitis were assessed. After prestratification for the duration of complaints (ie, < or = 3 months and > or = 3 months), 63 patients initially were assigned randomly to 12 weeks of brace treatment (Group 1; n = 30) or no brace treatment (Group 2; n = 33). Outcome measures included pain (VAS), pain-free grip strength, maximum grip strength, and functionality of the arm. All outcomes were assessed at 6, 12, 18, and 24 weeks. Brace treatment resulted in significant pain reduction, improved functionality of the arm, and improvement in pain-free grip strength. The beneficial effects of the dynamic extensor brace observed after 12 weeks were significantly different from the treatment group that received no brace. The beneficial effects were sustained for another 12 weeks. No correlation between duration of symptoms and treatment effects of the brace was revealed. The dynamic extensor brace is an effective therapeutic tool for treating lateral epicondylitis. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic study. Level I (randomized controlled trial with statistically significant difference). See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2006

A dynamic extensor brace reduces electromyographic activity of wrist extensor muscles in patients with lateral epicondylalgia.

STUDY DESIGN: Semiexperimental study. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of an external wrist extension force on extensor muscle activity during hand gripping in patients with lateral epicondylalgia. BACKGROUND: Lateral epicondylalgia or "tennis elbow" is a common, often disabling ailment affecting millions of people. An optimal treatment strategy remains to be identified. The use of an external wrist extension force may reduce the extensor muscle activity during gripping in these patients. METHODS: Muscle activity of the extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB), extensor digitorum communis (EDC), and extensor carpi radialis longus (ECRL) was measured using surface EMG. Subjects gripped at an intensity of 10%, 20%, and 30% of the maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) force with and without the dynamic extensor brace and with and without an applied external wrist extension force of 1%, 2%, and 3% of MVC. RESULTS: At all levels of MVC gripping, the EMG signal of the ECRB and EDC were significantly lower for gripping with than without brace. An extension force of 3% of the MVC force significantly reduced the EMG signal of all muscles in almost all measurement conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that the dynamic extensor brace as well as the external extension force significantly reduced the EMG signal of the wrist extensor muscles during gripping in patients with lateral epicondylalgia. Based on these results, the dynamic extensor brace could be a promising new intervention for lateral epicondylalgia.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

The application of an external wrist extension force reduces electromyographic activity of wrist extensor muscles during gripping.

STUDY DESIGN: Experimental repeated-measures study. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of different extension forces applied to the palm of the hand on electromyographic (EMG) activity of the wrist extensor muscles during hand gripping. BACKGROUND: Lateral epicondylitis is usually caused by repetitive wrist extension that leads to an overuse injury. The current theory is that the process of lateral epicondylitis begins with an overuse injury that leads to microtearing of the extensor carpi radialis brevis muscle and occasionally the extensor digitorum communis muscle. Use of an external wrist extension force might reduce muscle activity during gripping. METHODS: Muscle activity was measured using surface EMG while subjects gripped at an intensity of 10%, 20%, and 30% of the maximum voluntary contraction force without, and with, an applied external wrist extension force of 1%, 2%, and 3% of maximum voluntary contraction. RESULTS: Applying an extension force to the palm of the hand reduced EMG activity of the extensor muscles at the same strength generation during hand gripping. The muscles with the most significant reduction in EMG level, the extensor carpi radialis brevis and extensor digitorum communis, are those muscles that are most often involved with lateral epicondylitis. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that an external extension force reduces EMG activity of the wrist extensor muscles during gripping in healthy volunteers. As the extension force increased, a greater reduction in muscle activity was noted.

Adult↗