MAP (Muscle Assessment in Peripheral nerve injury)

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  How reliable is manual muscle testing and does it correlate with functional and quality of life measures in patients with upper brachial plexus injuries?

• IRAS ID

  206730

• Contact name

  Caroline Miller

• Contact email

  caroline.miller@uhb.nhs.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 5 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Adult traumatic brachial plexus injuries (BPIs) are devastating injuries, and result from high-speed motor vehicle accidents in the majority of cases. A brachial plexus injury occurs when the nerves between the neck and the shoulder are injured. These injuries typically occur in young males in their twenties and early thirties and frequently result in lifelong disabilities which lead to functional limitations in their daily life with problems returning to work and hobbies.
  Treatment for BPI focuses on improving the use of the affected limb. Individuals often undergo surgeries and rehabilitation over many months or years, and the burden on family and society can be considerable.
  Determining the most cost-effective forms of management and monitoring treatment outcome is of importance to patients, health care professionals, hospital administrators and commissioners.
  Individuals may be treated conservatively or with microsurgery depending on the extent of the injuries. There is increasing evidence which indicates that advances in microsurgery results in improved strength in muscles and therefore movement.
  Assessing muscle strength is an essential part of reviewing outcome following BPI. Indeed, recent research indicates that 94% of published papers reported muscle strength after surgery . Doctors and therapists widely use a muscle grading system in clinical practice rating the strength of muscles between 0-5. This grading system could be open to bias as it depends on how the individual clinician rates the muscle power. Also we do not know if improvements in strength in the arm improve function and quality of life in individuals with brachial plexus injuries.
  The aims of this study are to
  (1) Assess whether clinicians can reliably assess muscle strength using manual muscle techniques (MRC motor) in individuals with BPI
  (2) Determine whether muscle strength (using the MRC motor) following BPI correlates with function and quality of life measures

• REC name

  North East - Tyne & Wear South Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  16/NE/0250

• Date of REC Opinion

  12 Jul 2016

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion