[en] Background: Patients with hypermobility suffer from joints problems and chronic pain is the most frequently reported symptom.
Objective: Eccentric muscle strengthening could be very important to protect hypermobile joints.
Design: Case report.
Patient: A girl (16 y.o.) affected by an Ehler-Danlos syndrome presented pain in the right elbow and the right wrist after a season of tennis.
Interventions: Her training consisted of wrist prono-supination and flexion-extension muscle group reinforcement and proprioceptive training. To protect the wrist against excessive load, the eccentric strengthening exercises of prono-supinator and flexor-extensor muscles of elbow and wrist were undertaken gradually, at increasing speeds within a limited range of motion in flexion and extension, on an isokinetic device after an evaluation. She was also given an orthesis restricting the joint range of motion of the wrist.
Main outcome measurements: The evaluation was made by isokinetic evaluation, visual analog scale and MOS-SF36 questionnaire before and after training.
Results: The patient rapidly noted a decrease in pain and an increase in the stability of her right arm even when playing tennis. Isokinetic evaluation objectified a significant improvement in maximal torque in flexion-extension muscles of the right elbow. She was also given individualized home exercises.
Conclusions: The goal of this eccentric training is to avoid hypermobility by using the muscles as a protective brake in the control of joint positioning. Muscles can be reinforced in eccentric mode with starting position at the maximum length of these muscles when unstreched. The exercises can be carried out safely on an isokinetic device, at slow speed and limited range of joint motion to avoid risk of luxation. Thus, in this case report, the eccentric exercises using an isokinetic device were effective to safely reinforce the muscles as a protective brake for joint hypermobility and prevent pain during practicing tennis.
Disciplines :
Orthopedics, rehabilitation & sports medicine
Author, co-author :
Kaux, Jean-François ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences de la motricité > Département des sciences de la motricité
Delvaux, François ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences de la motricité > Médecine physique et réadaptation fonctionnelle
Forthomme, Bénédicte ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences de la motricité > Rééducation du membre supérieur
Debray, François-Guillaume ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences biomédicales et précliniques > Maladies métaboliques d'origine génétique
Crielaard, Jean-Michel ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences de la motricité > Evaluation et entraînement des aptitudes physiques
Croisier, Jean-Louis ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences de la motricité > Kinésithérapie générale et réadaptation
Language :
English
Title :
Eccentric training for elbow hypermobility
Publication date :
April 2014
Event name :
IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport