12 Moreover, the participants were re-examined for bone and joint pains, hip joint motion limitation, and visual acuity by the investigators six month after the hospitalization. The extent of improvement in both limbs was compared. The nurse, who dealt with the pain scaling, was not aware of the results obtained by the physiotherapist involved in the two-point discrimination tests. The staff

was not informed of the results of pain scaling as well. Moreover, the physicians were not aware of the results they obtained before finishing the hospitalization period. Data are presented Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical as mean±SD. They were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Paired t, unpaired t, or Spearman’s correlation tests were used for statistical analysis. A P value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The values (mean±SD) of two-point discrimination tests obtained from L4, L5 and S1 dermatomes

for the selleck products intact and involved limbs before and after the treatment are shown in table 1. The pretreatment values of two-point discrimination Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical tests obtained from L4 and L5 in intact and involved limbs were significantly lower than those of after treatment values in the same limb. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Moreover, the two-point discrimination tests values obtained after treatment from involved limb, but not that of intact limb, was significantly lower from that of pretreatment values (table 1). Table 1 The values (means±SD) of two-point discrimination tests (in millimeter) in different dermatomes before and after treatment in intact and involved limbs The difference in the values Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of dermatomes from two-point discrimination tests before and after treatment in the intact and involved limbs were compared using unpaired t test. The changes in two-point discrimination tests values were significantly higher in the involved limbs than those in the intact limbs (table 2). Table 2 The mean±SD of differences (mm) of improvement of two-point discrimination tests

in L4, L5 and S1 dermatomes of the intact and the involved limbs before and after the treatment The pain score Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical for the patients on day 7 of hospitalization was 6.05±2.52, which significantly lower than that on day 1 (8.5±1.72). In 16 out of 20 patients (80%), the results of SLR tests became negative after the treatment, while five out of 20 patients (20%) remained positive. This further indicated that the treatment schedule did manage to improve the patients’ condition. mafosfamide The Spearman’s correlation tests did not reveal a significant correlation between the changes in the outcomes of two-point discrimination tests and changes in the pain scales at L5 level (r=0.017, P=0.94) or S1 level (r=-0.14, P=0.55). Likewise, the correlation between the changes in the results of two-point discrimination tests and changes in the outcomes of SLR changes was not significant. Discussion Admittedly, the improvement in skin sensitivity would lead to increase its ability to discriminate between the two sharp points.