The approach to rehabilitation in post-traumatic spasticity

Abstract

Tone and biomechanical properties of muscles can be measured objectively, e.g., using a probe that applies a perpendicular brief pulse percussion to the underlying tissue. The tissue responds in the form of damped oscillations that can be recorded by sensor measuring kinematic variations. We performed a double-blind study of 40 patients (15 M, 25F) affected by spasticity, who were treated with BoNT (72.45±23.52 Botox U). The patients were evaluated before and after treatment using the modified Ashworth score (MAS); muscle tone, elasticity and stiffness were evaluated using Myoton ® , either at rest or during passive extension. Follow-up evaluations were performed 25–30 days and 4 months after treatment. Variations in MAS and physical variables were compared using 2-way ANOVA. Muscle tone was reduced at rest and during passive elongation, both at 25–30 days and at 4 months, compared to baseline ( p p