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Elastic head support for persons with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Elastic head support for persons with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Andrew Hansen, PhD; Beau Bedore, MA; Eric Nickel, MS; Kristin Hanowski, DPT; Sonya Tangen, MS,OTR/L, ATP; Gary Goldish, MD. Aim

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Elastic head support for persons with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

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  1. Elastic head support for persons with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Andrew Hansen, PhD; Beau Bedore, MA; Eric Nickel, MS; Kristin Hanowski, DPT; Sonya Tangen, MS,OTR/L, ATP; Gary Goldish, MD

  2. Aim • Describe inexpensive elastic head support for persons with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and neck muscle weakness. • Present case series to examine its effectiveness. • Relevance • Neck muscle weakness in patients with ALS can result in head drop (or involuntary anterior flexion of the neck).

  3. Method • Head support system was tested in 7 male patients with ALS for 2 wk. • Before and after, subjects answered questions on: • Communication efficacy. • Difficulty swallowing. • Level of neck discomfort. • Number of hours being upright before neck discomfort. • Comfort in social settings. • Rating of perceived dyspnea. • After, subjects answered specific questions about the elastic head support.

  4. Results • Elastic head support system was effective for some, but not all, subjects. • Results provide first impressions of who may benefit from using device as primary head support system. • For example, ALS patients who: • Are comfortable wearing hats. • Have good upper-limb function or caregiver support. • Don’t wear loose-fitting pants.

  5. Conclusion • Given low cost of materials and minimal time involved in fitting patient with device, clinicians should be able to try using the elastic head support for patients with neck extensor weakness on case-by-case basis and/or as supplement to other head support systems, in appropriately selected patients.

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