@article{10.37349/ent.2022.00021,
abstract = {Aim: Spasticity is one of the most common symptoms in post-stroke patients. Dry needling (DN) is a relatively new method for the management of muscle spasticity. A multimodal treatment may be more effective in spasticity management. The purpose of this study was to explore the short-term combined effects of DN and exercise therapy on wrist flexor spasticity, motor function, and motor neuron excitability in patients with chronic stroke. Methods: Ten patients with stroke and a mean age of 52 ± 4.9 years participated in this pretest-posttest pilot study. Patients received four sessions of DN and exercise therapy. Affected flexor carpi radialis and flexor carpi ulnaris muscles were needled each for 1 min. Patients underwent exercise therapy for about 30 min, once a week after DN. The outcome measures were the Modified Modified Ashworth Scale (MMAS), the maximal amplitude of H wave/maximal amplitude of M wave ratio (Hmax/Mmax Ratio), H-reflex latency, wrist extension active and passive range of motion (ROM), Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), and Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA). Assessments were performed at baseline, after four sessions of treatment, and three weeks after treatment. Results: After treatment, significant improvements in MMAS, wrist passive ROM, ARAT, and FMA were obtained (P ≤ 0.05).
Conclusions: DN combined with exercise therapy improved muscle spasticity and motor function in patients with chronic stroke. Further investigations with a randomized controlled trial design with a comparator group of DN only are warranted (https://www.irct.ir/; IRCT ID: IRCT20180611040061N1).},
author = {Babazadeh-Zavieh, Seyedeh Saeideh and Ansari, Noureddin Nakhostin and Ghotbi, Nastaran and Naghdi, Soofia and Haeri, Seyed Mohammad Jafar and Khanmohammadi, Mohammadreza and Mansoori, Korosh},
doi = {10.37349/ent.2022.00021},
journal = {Exploration of Neuroprotective Therapy},
pages = {100--109},
title = {{Combined effects of dry needling and exercises therapy on muscle spasticity and motor function in chronic stroke : a pretest-posttest pilot study}},
url = {https://www.explorationpub.com/Journals/ent/Article/100421},
volume = {2},
year = {2022},
number = {3}
}