Evaluation of the Muscular FORCE in the Upper Limbs of Patients Presenting a Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Plain-language summary

The thoracic outlet syndrome is a rare but debilitating pathology, responsible for upper limb pain. Its frequency is probably underestimated because of diagnostic difficulties. This syndrome encompasses several entities including compressions of neurological, venous or arterial origin. In addition to pain, the majority of patients report fatigability and loss of strength in the upper limbs. However, the quantification of this loss of strength and fatigability has hardly been studied. In addition, the rehabilitation treatment is the first-line treatment of this pathology. It most often includes a muscle building phase. In this project, we would like to evaluate the proximal and distal force of patients presenting a thoracic outlet syndrome by comparing them to a population free from any pathology in the upper limbs. This evaluation would involve an isokinetic strength analysis of shoulder rotators at the proximal level, using an isokinetic dynamometer. At the distal level, the evaluation would be done using force clamps.Similarly, performing a 6-minute walk test will assess whether there is a difference between patients and controls, which may also impact endurance in addition to the pathology. In a second step, we will also be able to evaluate the effects of the reeducation on the strength and the muscular fatigability of the patients presenting a thoracic outlet syndrome.

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