TY  - JOUR
T1  - Combined effects of dry needling and exercises therapy on muscle spasticity and motor function in chronic stroke : a pretest-posttest pilot study
AU  - Babazadeh-Zavieh, Seyedeh Saeideh
AU  - Ansari, Noureddin Nakhostin
AU  - Ghotbi, Nastaran
AU  - Naghdi, Soofia
AU  - Haeri, Seyed Mohammad Jafar
AU  - Khanmohammadi, Mohammadreza
AU  - Mansoori, Korosh
Y1  - 2022///
JO  - Exploration of Neuroprotective Therapy
VL  - 2
IS  -  3
SP  - 100
EP  - 109
DO  - 10.37349/ent.2022.00021
UR  - https://www.explorationpub.com/Journals/ent/Article/100421
AB  - 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).
ER  -