Prevalence and factors influencing the occurrence of spasticity in stroke patients: a retrospective study

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ABSTRACT Background To describe the prevalence and clinical characteristics of stroke patients withoutspasticity, and simultaneously analyse the factors related to post-strokenon-spasticity. Methods In this retrospective study, information on patients hospitalized in thedepartment of rehabilitation, Daping Hospital, over the past eight years wascollected. Demographic information and clinical characteristics werestatistically analysed. Results A total of 819 stroke patients with an average age of 61.66±13.72 years old wereanalysed, including 561 males (68.5%), and 258 females (31.5%). In this study,201 (24.5%) patients developed spasticity, and 618 (75.5%) patients had nospasticity. Patients without spasticity were older than those with spasticity.Patients with ischemic stroke and mild functional impairment were also lesslikely to have spasticity. Post-stroke spasticity may be related to age [oddratio (OR): 0.982; 95% CI:0.965 to 0.999; P = 0.042), hemorrhagic stroke (OR:1.643; 95% CI: 1.029 to 2.626; P = 0.038), National Institute of Health StrokeScale (NIHSS) Scores (OR: 1.132; 95% CI: 1.063 to 1.204; P = 0.000]. Conclusion Most stroke patients do not have spasticity, especially the elderly, patients withischemic stroke, and those with mild functional impairment, suggesting that notall upper motor nerve injuries lead to increased muscle tension. For youngindividuals, patients with hemorrhagic stroke, and those with moderate tosevere functional impairment, close follow-up is necessary to identify theoccurrence of spasticity early on and then formulate corresponding rehabilitationstrategies for prompt intervention.