Collaboration on Upper Limb Pain in Spinal Cord Injury (CULP-SCI)

Principal Investigators: Michael L. Boninger, MD, Rory A. Cooper, PhD

Co-Investigators: Michael Chang, MD, PhD, Shirley Fitzgerald, PhD, Sue Ann Sisto, PT, MA, PhD, Alicia Koontz, PhD, Robert Price MS, Trevor A. Dyson-Hudson, MD, Barry Goldstein, MD, PhD, Rosemarie Cooper, MPT

2001-2008

Overview: This is a collaborative study with subjects involved at the Kessler Medical Rehabilitation Research and Education Corporation, the University of Washington, and the University of Pittsburgh. The goal of this study is to determine modifiable biomechanical factors present during wheelchair propulsion and transfers that predict the degree of pathology, clinical findings, and subjective pain in the upper limbs of individuals with paraplegia. The purpose of this study is to determine cause and effect as well as to gain an understanding in how pain effects manual wheelchair propulsion. The realization of these specific aims will allow us to determine cause and affect relationships between biomechanical wheelchair propulsion factors and injury. We will perform biomechanical as well as clinical assessments on individuals who require a manual wheelchair for mobility. The protocol is designed for subjects to undergo an initial evaluation, which will include radiology studies of both shoulders, bilateral upper extremity nerve conduction studies (NCS), biomechanical analysis, history and physical examination, and pain psychosocial measures. The experimental design also includes a longitudinal process assessment consisting of a pain questionnaire and repeated tests in initial evaluation after two years from enrolling in this study.