Research Report Abstracts - Gesundheit

WPT2011, Research Report Abstracts eS121
knowledge on CPD. Lack of leadership direction and sponsorship
were identified as the main barriers by (22%) and
(33%) of the respondents, respectively.
Conclusions: The sampled Physiotherapists had good
knowledge about CPD. Pertinent issues such as role model
and lack of sponsorship were however still raised as major
barriers.
Implications: The outcome of this study calls for active
involvement of stakeholders in CPD to motivate health care
personnel in their quest to attain better care strategies.
Keywords: CPD; Knowledge; Barriers
Funding acknowledgements: Members of the Ghana Association
of Physiotherapists.
Ethics approval: Ethics Committee of the School of Allied
Health Sciences, University of Ghana approved the study.
Research Report Poster Display
Number: RR-PO-207-7-Wed Wednesday 22 June 13:00
RAI: Exhibit Halls 2&3
UPPER TRAPEZIUS RECRUITMENT PATTERNS
WITH A REPETITIVE UPPER LIMB TASK IN
FEMALES WITH WHIPLASH ASSOCIATED
DISORDER II AND HEALTHY WOMEN
Belot M., Jull G.
University of Queensland, School of Health and Rehabilitation
Sciences, St. Lucia, Australia
Purpose: The first objective was to determine if there were
differences in upper trapezius recruitment patterns between
women with persistent neck pain and whiplash associated
disorders (WAD) grade II, and healthy women, before, during
and after a unilateral repetitive upper limb task. The second
objective was to determine if there were differences between
subgroups of women with WADII and healthy women.
Relevance: Improved understanding of upper trapezius
motor control impairments, post-whiplash could aid physical
therapists in optimizing assessment and rehabilitation,
thereby reducing and/or preventing chronic pain and disability.
Participants: The participants were 19 women with WADII
and neck pain persisting for a minimum of 6 months post
motor vehicle accident and 10 healthy women, all of whom
were between the ages of 19 and 65 years of age. Nine
women were recruited with Neck Disability Index scores of
10–28/100 and ten women were recruited with Neck Disability
Index Scores of ≥30/100. Volunteers were recruited from
communities in and around Burnaby, Canada using posters,
emails, web-site postings and a paid Facebook ad.
Methods: Surface electromyography (EMG) was recorded
from two sites over each upper trapezius before, during,
and after a seated, repetitive unilateral upper extremity tasktapping
a marker in three circles at a prescribed speed for
2.5 minutes. Women with WADII then underwent a physical
examination by a physiotherapist in order to confirm their
WADII classification as well as assign a classification of
WADIIA, WADIIB or WADIIC using a modified Sterling
Classification system.
Analysis: A three-way mixed ANOVA (group by trial by
time in trial) was performed for each muscle site for median
frequency and mean EMG amplitude. This was repeated,
grouping by WADII vs. healthy, subgrouping by disability
level and subgrouping using a modified Sterling Classification.
Results: Women with WADII demonstrated lower levels of
activation of the anterior fibres of upper trapezius of the dominant
limb during the repetitive task relative to the healthy
group (F 1,27 = 4.6; p = 0.041). In the posterior fibres, this
was evident only when the WADII group was subgrouped by
disability level, with lower activation levels in the group with
less disability (Groups × Trials: F 2,28 = 3.415, p = 0.045;
During repetitive task Healthy vs. NDI10-28, p = 0.046). In
addition, signs of fatigue were evident in the posterior fibres
of upper trapezius of the dominant limb (Group × Time in
Trial Median Frequency: F 1,27 = 5.734, p = 0.024). This
finding was most evident in the group with the highest disability
level (NDI ≥ 30).
Conclusions: Upper trapezius motor impairments were associated
with persistent pain in women with WADII but were
not reliably predicted by level of disability or Sterling classification.
Surface electromyography of upper trapezius in
WADII may be a useful clinical tool, however, further
research is indicated to determine optimal test protocols and
norms and the correlation of such abnormalities with functional
deficits and symptoms.
Implications: Physiotherapists can and should assess upper
trapezius endurance post-motor vehicle accident, and should
consider that some individuals post-whiplash could potentially
benefit from increasing activation of upper trapezius
during dynamic tasks.
Keywords: Whiplash; Upper trapezius; Electromyography
Funding acknowledgements: Funding for this project was
provided by Simon Fraser University.
Ethics approval: The research protocol was approved by
Simon Fraser University Department of Research Ethics,
Burnaby, Canada.