ORIGINAL PAPER
Clinical evaluation and monitoring of the effect of extracorporeal shockwave therapy in sub-acute and chronic post-stroke spasticity patients
 
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Department of Physical Medicine, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt
 
 
Submission date: 2019-12-14
 
 
Acceptance date: 2020-03-29
 
 
Publication date: 2021-03-11
 
 
Physiother Quart. 2021;29(1):7-11
 
KEYWORDS
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ABSTRACT
Introduction:
To evaluate the efficacy and maintenance of extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) in sub-acute and chronic post-stroke spasticity patients in the Suez Canal region.

Methods:
An interrupted time series study was conducted; 82 patients were recruited in accordance with the defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. They were divided into 2 subgroups depending on the stroke duration: a sub-acute group (35 patients) and a chronic group (47 patients). ESWT was applied over knee and ankle flexor muscle belly with the following setup parameters: energy: 0.068–0.093 mJ/mm; frequency: 5 Hz; number of shots: 1500. Modified Ashworth score, clonus score, 3-minute walk test, range of motion angle of both knee and ankle joint, and Fugl-Meyer Assessment were established at baseline, after the 1st session, and at the 1st, 4th, and 8th week for the 2 groups.

Results:
Regarding the sub-acute group, there was a statistically significant improvement in the modified Ashworth score, clonus score, 3-minute walk test, and range of motion angle of both knee and ankle joint after the 1st session and after the 1st week of intervention. The differences were not statistically significant after 4th or 8th week. The chronic group showed no statistically significant improvement after the 1st session or in the 1st, 4th, or 8th week assessment.

Conclusions:
ESWT was more effective in treatment of spasticity in patients with sub-acute stroke compared with those with chronic stroke.

 
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