Abstract. Falls are a common problem among elderly persons, but the training for the fall prevention is not well established. Therefore, the effectiveness of toe grasp training was examined in this study. Spontaneous postural sway was tested on elderly persons (N=19) with eyes open and eyes closed. Using a force plate, sway responses were quantified in terms of the total track length, the environmental areas, the maximum amplitude distance of X-axis, and the maximum amplitude distance of Y-axis. The data was compared between the toe grasp training group and the control group. Total track length (eyes open and eyes closed), environmental areas (eyes open) and maximum amplitude distance of X-axis (eyes open and eyes closed) were improved significantly in the toe grasp training group. The activation of foot mechanoreceptors and improvements of the eye-leg coordination were thought to be factors in this improvement and toe grasp training is expected to be effective for fall prevention of the aged.
In this study, the effect of weightlessness on mechanoreceptors in ACL was investigated in rats with hindlimb suspension. The animals used in the present study were 20 Wistar male rats (weight: 278 ± 16 g). The animals were divided into 2 groups: the Suspension group (n=10, suspended for 4 weeks) and Control group (n=10, non-suspended for 4 weeks). ACL was stained with gold chloride. The frozen section was sliced to be approximately 45 µm in thickness using a cryostat. The tissue preparations were observed through an optical microscope. Based on the criteria proposed by Freeman and Wyke, mechanoreceptor was specified and counted. Four types of nerve endings, Pacinian corpuscle, Ruffini corpuscle, Golgi tendon organ-like receptor, and free nerve ending were observed. In the Susupension group, atypical Pacinian corpuscle, and Ruffini corpuscle were observed. The number of mechanoreceptors were significantly decreased in the Suspension group (median 10) compared with the Control group (median 17) (Mann Whitney U test; Z=-2.65, P<0.01). It might be necessary to perform also to early rehabilitation to prevent the degeneration of mechanoreceptors and take into consideration the nerve control system in the clinical setting.
To reappraise symptomatology of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), we investigated the clinical symptoms of seven patients with CRPS who showed associated patchy osteoporosis. The incidence of moderate to severe spontaneous pain, burning pain, mechanical allodynia was higher in patients with significant nerve injury than in those without. Periarticular tenderness adjacent to osteoporotic bones, abnormalities of blood flow, edema and impairment of motor function were seen in both groups of patients. Our clinical observations of patients with CRPS associated with patchy osteoporosis suggest that CRPS may have the following two distinct components: (1) neuropathic pain that includes severe spontaneous pain or severe persistent mechanical allodynia and (2) prolonged regional inflammation, the early phase of which could be indicated by positive inflammatory symptoms of pain (tenderness), heat, redness, swelling and loss of function and their alleviation with corticosteroids.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.