TY - JOUR A1 - Achenbach, Leonard A1 - Huppertz, Gunnar A1 - Zeman, Florian A1 - Weber, Johannes A1 - Luig, Patrick A1 - Rudert, Maximilian A1 - Krutsch, Werner T1 - Multicomponent stretching and rubber band strengthening exercises do not reduce overuse shoulder injuries: a cluster randomised controlled trial with 579 handball athletes JF - BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine N2 - Objectives Handball is associated with a high risk of overuse shoulder injury. This study investigated if an injury prevention programme effectively reduces overuse injury to the throwing shoulder of handball athletes. Methods 61 men’s and women’s handball teams (u-19 and senior athletes) were cluster-randomised into an intervention and a control group in the 2019–2020 season. Players of the intervention group regularly carried out an injury prevention programme. Both groups documented overuse shoulder injuries via an online questionnaire every second week. The primary endpoint was the prevalence of overuse injury to the throwing shoulder. Secondary endpoints were the influence of compliance on the primary endpoint and intensity of overuse shoulder symptoms measured by a shortened, handball-specific Western Ontario Shoulder Index (WOSI). Results 31 teams (295 players) in the intervention group and 30 teams (284 players) in the control group were included for analyses. The overall questionnaire response rate was 61%. The average prevalence of overuse shoulder injury did not significantly differ between the intervention group (n=109, 38.4% (95% CI 32.9% to 44.2%)) and the control group (n=106, 35.9% (95% CI 30.7% to 41.6%), p=0.542). Compliance with the intervention programme did not significantly affect overuse shoulder injury (p=0.893). Using generalised estimating equations for WOSI, the estimated mean for the intervention group was 44.6 points (95% CI 42.0 to 47.1) and 47.6 points for the control group (95% CI 44.9 to 50.3, p=0.111). Conclusions A multicomponent exercise programme using rubber bands and stretching did not significantly reduce the prevalence or symptoms of overuse throwing shoulder injury in handball athletes of both sexes. Randomised controlled study; level of evidence I. KW - handball KW - multicomponent stretching KW - shoulder injuries Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300770 SN - 2055-7647 VL - 8 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Achenbach, Leonard A1 - Le Hanneur, Malo A1 - Camenzind, Roland S. A1 - Bouyer, Michael A1 - Pottecher, Pierre A1 - Lafosse, Thibault T1 - Systematic bifocal decompression for isolated long thoracic nerve paresis: A case series of 12 patients JF - Interdisciplinary Neurosurgery N2 - To date, no consensus exists regarding the best surgical management of isolated, micro-traumatic long thoracic nerve (LTN) paresis. Our hypothesis was that a combined decompression of the LTN at two potential locations for entrapment would be effective in the management of dynamic LTN paresis. We report on twelve patients with isolated LTN parersis, with tenderness at two entrapment sites, who underwent bifocal LTN decompression after undergoing unsuccessful conservative treatment for at least 6 months; all patients had preoperative electrodiagnostic studies that confirmed the paresis and ruled out peripheral neuritis. Clinical and electrical improvements were observed in eight patients (67%) regarding shoulder flexion, shoulder abduction, and Quick-DASH scores. Four patients (33%) did not improve after surgery. The results corroborate our hypothesis that a bifocal LTN decompression can be an effective and reliable therapeutic option in more than half of a very selective patient population suffering from serratus anterior muscle deficiency. KW - entrapment, traction KW - serratus anterior KW - scapular winging KW - scapula alata KW - dyskinesia KW - peripheral nerve KW - nerve compression KW - micro-traumatic KW - neurolysis Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265085 VL - 27 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kaiser, Moritz A1 - Brambrink, Sara A1 - Benditz, Achim A1 - Achenbach, Leonard A1 - Gehentges, Matthias A1 - König, Matthias Alexander T1 - Increase in lower limb strength after multimodal pain management in patients with low back pain JF - Medicina N2 - Background and Objectives: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of a multimodal pain therapy (MPM) regarding the objective parameter muscle strength of segment-dependent lower limb muscle groups before and after such a treatment. Materials and Methods: 52 patients with a history of low back pain and/or leg pain received standardized multimodal pain management. Strength of segment indicating lower limb muscles were assessed for each patient before and after ten days of treatment by handheld dynamometry. Results: Overall strength increased significantly from 23.6 kg ± 6.6 prior to treatment to 25.4 ± 7.3 after treatment, p ≤ 0.001. All muscle groups significantly increased in strength with exception of great toe extensors. Conclusions: Despite lower basic strength values at the beginning of treatment, all investigated muscle groups, except for the great toe extensors, showed a significant increase of overall strength after completion of the multimodal pain management concept. Increased overall strength could help with avoiding further need of medical care by supporting patients’ autonomy in daily life activities, as well as maintaining working abilities. Thus, our study is the first to show a significant positive influence on lower limb strength in patients with low back pain after a conservative MPM program. KW - multimodal pain management KW - low back pain KW - muscle strength KW - dynamometer Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-284264 SN - 1648-9144 VL - 58 IS - 7 ER -