The Effect of Low-frequency Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Muscle Tone Reduction and Cerebral Activity in Stroke Patients

Abstract

An intervention program was conducted with two groups of patients who had experienced stroke: one which received low-frequency rTMS and occupational therapy (rTMS-OT Group), and one which received occupational therapy only (OT group). The treatment was provided three times per week for 4 weeks followed by a 1-week evaluation of MEP amplitude and latency, and muscle tone. In an intergroup test of MEP amplitude and latency, and muscle tone, all groups showed increases between pre-and post-test evaluations. As a result of the study, during the treatment intervention of the experimental group and the control group, the experimental group rTMS-OTG and the control OTG group showed MEP amplitudes of 0.161 mV and 0.114 mV, respectively, and the experimental group showed more improvement. The MEP latency of the rTMS-OTG group was -2.83 ms and the MEP latency of the OTG group was -1.49 ms. The experimental group, rTMS-OTG, responded faster. However, in the case of muscle tone evaluation, there was no significant difference between the two groups. In conclusion, we determined that rTMS may be safely applied to the directly damaged cerebral cortex and is considered to be an effective treatment for patients recovering from stroke.