Musculoskeletal disorders and the possibility of using neuromuscular electrical stimulation

Abstract

Background. The study of the musculoskeletal disorders is relevant not only due to the limitation of the motor activity of patients and possible disability, but also due to the widespread prevalence of this pathology.
 Aim: to study the effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation in patients with moderate adhesive capsulitis with subcompensated type 2 diabetes mellitus in order to develop a new comprehensive treatment.
 Methods. The study included two groups of patients with adhesive capsulitis with subcompensated type 2 diabetes mellitus, in which, before treatment, reduced spastic type electroexcitability in the infraspinatus muscle and the supraspinous muscle was predominant without qualitative changes; the group 1 (control) included 30 patients, the group 2 (main) included 120 patients. All patients had limited movement in the shoulder joint, pain syndrome, the presence of trigger points in the muscles of the shoulder girdle. To determine impaired muscle function, we used the classical electrodiagnostics method with the determination of electroexcitability of the infraspinatus and supraspinatus muscles.
 Results. The state of electroexcitability of the muscles under consideration, having trigger points, reflected the presence of spasticity in them, which was accompanied by an increase in the performance of all types of currents used. Currently, a wide range of drugs is known, which efficiency is limited by their side effects, therefore, in this work, for the group 2 of patients, the standard treatment additionally included neuromuscular electrical stimulation using the OMRON E-4 device. It has a wide range of frequencies, which creates an analgesic effect in the treatment, normalizes the electroexcitability of the neuromuscular apparatus, and increases the range of motion in the shoulder joint. A comparative analysis of the treatment efficiency in two groups of patients revealed the advantage of a course of comprehensive treatment (using the electrical stimulation indicated) with compensation in 86.7% of patients of the group 2, which was confirmed by clinical, electrodiagnostic and regression analysis, with a positive long term prognosis.
 Conclusion. The inclusion of neuromuscular electrical stimulation in the comprehensive treatment enables to reduce the pain syndrome and restore the movement pattern in the shoulder joint, as well as achieve overall compensation for the clinical condition.