The Effects of High Frequency Transcutaneous Nerve Stimulation on Spasticity, Proprioception, Strength, and Balance in Patients with Stroke : A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

This study was conducted to compare the effects of high frequency and low frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation applied to gastrocnemius muscle on proprioception, spasticity, and dynamic balance of stroke patients. Twenty subjects were randomly assigned to each of 10 experimental and control groups. High frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation was applied to the experimental group and low frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation was applied to the control group for 20 minutes per day, 5 times a week for a total of 4 weeks. The subjects were assessed for proprioception by joint position sense in ankle plantarflexion and dorsiflexion, spasticity was assessed using Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) and amount of resistance, and dynamic balance was assessed using the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. A significant improvement in joint position sense (plantarflexion, dorsiflexion), MAS, amount of resistance, and TUG was observed after intervention in the experimental group (p 0.05), and there was a significant improvement in all evaluation items compared to the control group (p 0.05). The results of this study suggest that application of high frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation to the bilateral gastrocnemius muscles of patients with stroke has a positive effect on proprioception, spasticity and dynamic balance.