Abstract
Effect of Different Radial Shock Wave Therapy Protocols on Spasticity in Patients with Stroke
Author(s): Khaled Zaki Fouda*, Rania Galal Eldeen Abdou and Wanees Mohamed BadawyBackground: Spasticity and a number of other medical conditions are treated by Radial Shock Wave Therapy (RSWT).
Objective: The purpose of the study was to compare the therapeutic effect of introducing two different RSWT treatment protocols on reducing spasticity and increasing the range of motion of the upper limb in stroke patients.
Materials and methods: Forty patients with upper limb spasticity post-stroke were randomly assigned into group A, in which patients received RSWT for the agonist muscles only, and group B received RSWT for both agonist and antagonist muscles. All patients had also received a traditional physical therapy program. Spasticity, Range of Motion (ROM) and pain intensity were evaluated pre and post-treatment.
Results: Post-treatment Wilcoxon signed rank test showed a significant reduction in spasticity (p<0.001) for groups, while there was no significant difference (p>0.05) between both groups in spasticity reduction as indicated by Mann Whitney test. Paired t test revealed a significant improvement (p<0.001) in ROM and pain intensity for both groups post treatment. Furthermore, unpaired t test showed a significant difference (p<0.001) between both groups in ROM and pain intensity.
Conclusion: The RSWT protocols used in this study are equally effective in spasticity reduction. However, the stimulation for both agonist and antagonist muscles is more effective protocol than the stimulation for the agonist muscles only in terms of ROM improvement and pain reduction.