The Relationship Between Ambulation Capacity and Piriformis Muscle in Patients With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

Gaziler Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Education and Research Hospital

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Spinal Cord Injuries

Treatments: Other: Ultrasonographic evaluation

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05829837

37

Details and patient eligibility

About

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a neurological condition causing paralysis, sensory abolishmentS and deficits including circulatory, respiratory, otonomic nervous systems, bowel and bladder functions. For patients with SCI, reducing disability, limitations of the impairment and regaining the walking ability are the main rehabilitation goals. There many prognostic factors effecting the recovery and ambulation capacity of patients.

The piriformis muscle (PM) is placed posterior to the hip joint, originates on the anterior surface of the sacrum and the sacrotuberous ligament and passes out of the pelvis through the greater sciatic foramen and separates the foramen into two spaces. The PM is the solely muscle coursing transversely throughout the greater sciatic notch, and it is the main landmark to all the important neurovasculer structures that pass from the pelvis to the gluteal region. PM serves as a hip abductor when the hip is flexed and as a hip external rotator when the hip is extended. It is innervated by branches of the posterior division of the ventral rami of S1, S2 and is the largest muscle among the deep, short external rotators of the hip and provides postural stability while standing and walking. PM has also a functional importance as it connects the sacroiliac joint and hip joint. For these reasons morphology of PM may have a clinical importance for SCI patients whom can walk.

Ultrasonography is radiation-free, noninvasive, available technique that can be used to measure muscle thickness in the monitoring and management of muscle changes during rehabilitation.

The aim of our study is to evaluate the relationship between the PM and the ambulation pattern of motor incomplete patients with chronic SCI. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating PM in patients with SCI.

Enrollment: 60 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Being between the ages of 18-65
• Diagnosis of motor incomplete paraplegia at C or D level according to the spinal cord injury classification of the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale with a neurological injury level between T2-S1

Exclusion criteria

• Being under the age of 18 and over the age of 65
• Having joint contracture in the legs
• Unstable medical conditions
• Severe osteoporosis and high fracture risk
• Sacral or coccygeal grade 2 and higher pressure ulcers
• Peripheral neuropathy,
• Psychiatric disorder or cognitive problems

Trial design

60 participants in 2 patient groups

Motor incomplete paraplegia patients

Description:

Participants with the age of 18 - 65, were selected for the study based on the following inclusion criteria: diagnosis of motor incomplete paraplegia at C or D level according to the spinal cord injury classification of the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale with a neurological injury level between T2-S1.

Treatment:

Other: Ultrasonographic evaluation

Non-ambulatory patients with complete spinal cord injury

Description:

Participants with the age of 18 - 65, were selected for the study based on the following inclusion criteria: non-ambulatory patients with diagnosis of motor complete paraplegia at A level according to the spinal cord injury classification of the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale with a neurological injury level between T2-S1.

Treatment:

Other: Ultrasonographic evaluation