Article

The objectives of this work were to investigate how wheelchair
transfers influence acute changes in ultrasound markers for biceps and
supraspinatus tendon degeneration and to determine how such changes correlate
with transfer technique and demographic characteristics. DESIGN: Participants
underwent quantitative ultrasound examinations for markers of biceps and
supraspinatus tendon degeneration (tendon width, echogenicity, variance, and
contrast) before and after a stressful repeated-transfers protocol. The Transfer
Assessment Instrument was completed for each participant to identify transfer
skills. Linear regression tested whether demographics and transfer skills
correlated with ultrasound measures. RESULTS: Sixty-two wheelchair users with
spinal cord injury were included (39 with paraplegia and 23 with tetraplegia).
Biceps tendon width increased after repeated transfers (P < 0.001). Participants
with greater body weight experienced greater increases in biceps width after
transfers (beta = 0.109, P < 0.05). Skills evaluating body position relative to
the target surface and safe and stable hand and arm positions affected changes in
biceps and supraspinatus width and echogenicity (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Repeated
transfers caused measurable changes in biceps tendon width in a subset of
participants. Changes in biceps and supraspinatus ultrasound measures were
related to body weight and performance of specific transfer skills. Further
testing is needed to confirm whether the clinical meaning of the observed
relationships and whether using certain transfer skills and reducing body weight
can attenuate the development of tendinopathy.

Langue : ANGLAIS