Deans' stroke musings: Vascular Elasticity and Grip Strength Are Associated With Bone Health of the Hemiparetic Radius in Chronic Stroke: Implications for Rehabilitation

Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Vascular Elasticity and Grip Strength Are Associated With Bone Health of the Hemiparetic Radius in Chronic Stroke: Implications for Rehabilitation

No clue on how this might be of any use to your doctor or therapist.
http://ptjournal.apta.org/content/early/2013/02/20/ptj.20120378.abstract

Abstract

Background Individuals with stroke often sustain increased bone loss and fracture rate. Increasing evidence has demonstrated a link between cardiovascular health and bone loss in other patient populations.

Objective To compare the bone density and geometry of the radius diaphysis between the two sides in people with chronic stroke and aged-matched controls, and to examine the relationship between the bone strength index of the hemiparetic radius diaphysis and vascular health in people with chronic stroke.

Design This was a case-control study.

Methods The radius diaphysis on both sides was scanned using peripheral quantitative computed tomography in 65 people with chronic stroke and 34 controls. Large and small artery elasticity indices were evaluated using a cardiovascular profiling system.

Results The paretic radius diaphysis had significantly lower value in cortical bone mineral density, cortical thickness, cortical area, bone strength index but greater marrow cavity area than the non-paretic radius diaphysis in the stroke group whereas none of the bone measurements showed significant side-to-side difference in controls. Multiple regression analyses showed that large artery elasticity index and grip strength remained significantly associated with bone strength index of the hemiparetic radius diaphysis, after controlling for age, sex, time since stroke diagnosis, body mass index, physical activity (R²=0.790, p≤0.001).

Limitations This study was cross-sectional and could not establish causality. The radius diaphysis is not the most common site of fracture after stroke.

Conclusions Both the integrity of the vasculature and muscle strength were significantly associated with the bone strength index at the hemiparetic radius diaphysis among people with chronic stroke. The results may be useful in guiding rehabilitative programs for enhancing bone health in the paretic arm following a stroke.