Left Right Judgement in Atraumatic Shoulder Instability
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Do individuals with Atraumatic Shoulder Instability perform differently during implicit motor imagery tasks when compared to healthy controls?
IRAS ID
304390
Contact name
Deborah Williams
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 0 days
Research summary
Atraumatic Shoulder Instability (ASI) is a painful condition involving increased movement within the shoulder joint and re-occurring shoulder dislocations, not caused by trauma. While ASI is relatively uncommon, the frequent dislocations and ongoing pain places a huge burden on quality of life and incurs high healthcare costs. To date, traditional management of ASI has been suboptimal. A recent survey showed that UK physiotherapists do not feel confident when treating the condition. There is some emerging, but low quality evidence to suggest that patients with ASI demonstrate changes in their brain pathways (cortical changes), which have also been seen in other conditions such as ‘Phantom Limb Pain’ (‘PLP’). It is possible to ‘re-organise’ brain pathways in patients with PLP using treatments such a ‘mirror imagery’, which ‘tricks’ the brain into believing the limb looks and moves normally, reducing pain. If stronger evidence demonstrates cortical changes are present in patients with ASI, this might signify the need for alternative treatments, such as visual imagery. The ‘Left Right Judgement Test’ (LRJT) is one way of identifying if any cortical changes are present. Seventy patients with ASI who have been referred to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) will be invited to participate in a ‘one off’ research appointment (lasting one hour). At the appointment, participants will be invited to answer two questionnaires about themselves and the effect ASI has on their lives. They will then be asked to perform the LRJT on an electronic tablet, which will show a series of images of shoulders in different orientations. Participants will be asked to decide whether each image refers to the right or left shoulder. Reaction time and accuracy of the task (how many they get it right) will be recorded. These findings will be compared to findings from a previous study involving healthy individuals.
REC name
HSC REC A
REC reference
22/NI/0154
Date of REC Opinion
12 Sep 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion