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Shoulder and forearm oxygenation and myoelectric activity in patients with work-related muscle pain and healthy subjects

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Abstract

We tested hypotheses of (a) reduced oxygen usage, oxygen recovery, blood flow and oxygen consumption; and (b) increased muscle activity for patients diagnosed with work-related muscle pain (WRMP) in comparison to healthy controls. Oxygenation was measured with near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), and muscle activity with EMG for the extensor carpi radialis (ECR) and trapezius descendens (TD) muscles. Eighteen patients with diffuse neck–shoulder–arm pain and 17 controls (matched in age and sex) were equipped with NIRS and EMG probes. After determining an individual’s maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) force, short-term (20 s) isometric contractions for the ECR and TD of 10, 30, 50 and 70 % MVC generated ∆StO2 and StO2% recovery (Rslope) from NIRS, and RMS%max from EMG signals. In addition, upper arm venous (VO) and arterial (AO) occlusions generated slopes of total hemoglobin (HbTslope) and deoxyhemoglobin (HHbslope) for the resting ECR as surrogates of blood flow and oxygen consumption, respectively. Mixed model analyses, t tests, and Mann–Whitney test were used to assess differences between groups. There was no significant difference in MVC between groups for either muscle. Also, ∆StO2%, Rslope for either muscle, and ECR-HbTslope were not different between groups, thus our hypotheses of reduced oxygen use, recovery, and blood flow for patients were not confirmed. However, patients had a significantly lower ECR-HHbslope confirming our hypothesis of reduced consumption. Further, there was no difference in RMS%max during contractions meaning that the hypothesis of increased activity for patients was not confirmed. When taking into account the number of NIRS variables studied, differences we found between our patient group and healthy controls (i.e., in forearm oxygen consumption and shoulder oxygen saturation level) may be considered modest. Overall our findings may have been impacted by the fact that our patients and controls were similar in muscle strength, which is in contrast to previous studies.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the occupational health care clinics in Umeå, Sweden for help in recruiting patients, Per Gandal for valuable assistance during data collection, Per Gandal and Göran Sandström for expert technical support, Margaretha Marklund for graphic work, and Per Liv and Karl-Erik Westergren for assistance with statistical calculations. The study was supported by grants from the Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, University of Gävle, Sweden.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, University of Gävle, Box 7629, S-907 12, Umeå, Sweden

    Guilherme H. Elcadi, Mikael Forsman & Albert G. Crenshaw

  2. Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

    Mikael Forsman

  3. Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Rehabilitation Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    Guilherme H. Elcadi & Martin Fahlstrom

  4. Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Physiotherapy, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    Ulrika Aasa

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  1. Guilherme H. Elcadi
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  2. Mikael Forsman
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  3. Ulrika Aasa
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  4. Martin Fahlstrom
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  5. Albert G. Crenshaw
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Correspondence to Guilherme H. Elcadi.

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Communicated by Toshio Moritani.

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Elcadi, G.H., Forsman, M., Aasa, U. et al. Shoulder and forearm oxygenation and myoelectric activity in patients with work-related muscle pain and healthy subjects. Eur J Appl Physiol 113, 1103–1115 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-012-2530-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-012-2530-6

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