Stroke
Conditions
Keywords
Stroke, spasticity, TENS, acupuncture points, gait, quality of life
Brief summary
A study was conducted to investigate the additional effect of TENS applied to acupuncture points to the physical therapy program on gait and quality of life in stroke patients. Thirty stroke patients from both sexes aging from 40 to 65 years were randomly assigned into two equal groups: study group and control group. The study group received TENS plus the designed physiotherapy program and the control group received only the same designed physiotherapy program. The outcome measures concerned with spasticity, gait and QoL.
Detailed description
A RCT study conducted to investigate the additional effect of TENS applied to acupuncture points to the physical therapy program on gait and quality of life in stroke patients. The study was conducted at the outpatient clinic of Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University and Kasr El-Ainy Hospitals, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt. Forty subjects were screened for eligibility but only thirty stroke patients from both sexes aging from 40 to 65 years who were included and randomly assigned into two equal groups: study and control group. The study group received TENS plus the designed physiotherapy program and the control group received only the same designed physiotherapy program. Patients were treated three times weekly for four weeks. The outcome measures included the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) for assessing spasticity, the WHOQOL-BREF scale for evaluating QoL and the Biodex Gait Trainer for measuring the gait kinematics. Evaluation of all variables took place pretreatment and post treatment.
Interventions
DEVICETranscutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
TENS is applied on the acupuncture points Intervention arm
OTHERPhysical Therapy program
Physical therapy methods
Sponsors
Cairo University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)
Masking description
stactician
Intervention model description
Blinded randomized controlled trial
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
45 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Clinical diagnosis of chronic stroke disease (6-8- months) * Age 45-60 years old * Mild to moderate spasticity * Can walk 10 meters independently * Sufficient cognitive abilities
Exclusion criteria
* Other neurological diseases * Severe spasticity * Cognitive impairments * Medical instability * Sever arthritis or contractures * Cardio-pulmonary disorders
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Modified Ashworth scale (MAS) | • At baseline and at the end of treatment at 4 weeks | Spasticity assessment scale. Score (0-4) 0 means no increase in tone. 4 means rigidity The lower the score, the lower spasticity the patient has. |
| World Health Organization quality of life instrument WHOQOL-BREF | • At baseline and at the end of treatment at 4 weeks | Quality of life assessment questionnaire. A validated Arabic version was used. 26 items The scores on the scale from 1- 5 : 1 is the lowest score while 5 is the highest score. The higher score the participants get, the better QoL they have |
| Biodex Gait Trainer | • At baseline and at the end of treatment at 4 weeks | A special treadmill to measure gait kinematic parameters |
Countries
Egypt
Outcome results
None listed