Title: Using Ultrasound to Measure Prevalence of Shoulder Injury in Children with Spinal Cord Injury
Name: Caleb Cordes
Primary Presenters: Caleb Cordes
College of Health Sciences
Research Doctorate (PhD)
Faculty Sponsor(s): Dr. Brooke Slavens

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a leading cause of manual wheelchair use. Manual wheelchair mobility subjects the shoulder to high demands and increases the risk of repetitive strain injuries and pain. Up to 84% of adult manual wheelchair users experience shoulder pain which negatively affects their quality of life, and shoulder pathology such as rotator cuff tendinopathy is nearly ubiquitous in this population. The prevalence of shoulder pathology remains unknown in children with SCI, who live longer with the risk for secondary musculoskeletal conditions related to wheelchair use. Parameters such as supraspinatus tendon thickness, critical shoulder angle, and acromion index in adult manual wheelchair users have been linked to risk of developing shoulder pain and pathology. Thus, there is a need to characterize these parameters to better understand musculoskeletal injury risk in children with SCI. We propose to establish the prevalence of shoulder pathology and characterize shoulder structural parameters in 10 pediatric manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury using ultrasonography. Standard clinical shoulder ultrasound examinations of pediatric manual wheelchair users will be performed by experienced physicians, who will make diagnoses of shoulder pathology, such as rotator cuff tears or tendinopathy. Utilizing a custom MATLAB interface, ultrasound images will then be used to quantify parameters of soft tissue and bony structure including supraspinatus and subscapularis tendon thickness, subacromial space, and critical shoulder angle. These quantifiable parameters will also be used to determine important ratios including supraspinatus tendon occupation ratio and acromion index, which may be involved in shoulder biomechanical variability. Using 10 adult manual wheelchair users for comparison, group differences in prevalence of shoulder pathology and normalized structural parameters will be determined. This will provide insight as to which structural parameters may be used as imaging-based biomarkers for predicting shoulder pain and pathology wheelchair users across the lifespan.

https://sites.uwm.edu/healthresearchsymposium/files/formidable/2/Cordes-3MT-References-CHS-Symposium-2021.pdf