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Elastic head support for men with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

2014; United States Department of Veterans Affairs; Volume: 51; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1682/jrrd.2013.03.0072

1938-1352

Andrew H. Hansen, Beau Bedore, Eric Nickel, Kristin Hanowski, Sonya Tangen, Gary D Goldish,

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research

This article describes an inexpensive elastic head support for persons with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and neck muscle weakness and also presents a case series to examine its effectiveness. The device offers support to the head while the user is seated, standing, and walking, providing support for persons in various stages of ALS. The head support system was tested in seven male patients with ALS. Before and after the 2 wk trial, the subjects answered questions related to their communication efficacy, difficulty swallowing, level of neck discomfort, number of hours being upright before neck discomfort, comfort in social settings, and rating of perceived dyspnea. Subjects also answered specific questions related to the elastic head support after the 2 wk trial. The results suggested that the elastic head support is useful for some, but not all, patients.