Abstract
Background. Lower limb spasticity is a common complication after stroke, which seriously affects the quality of life and rehabilitation of patients. There are different treatment methods for poststroke spasticity. It has been found in clinical practice that governor vessel electroacupuncture (GV-EA) can effectively relieve poststroke upper extremity spasticity, but the efficacy of treatment of lower extremity spasticity needs to be further verified. This study aims to design a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of GV-EA in the treatment of poststroke lower limb spasticity. Methods/Design. This is a randomized, controlled trial. Patients (N = 177) will be randomized to receive routine therapeutic drug and rehabilitation treatment plus GV-EA (experimental group) or routine therapeutic drug and rehabilitation treatment plus EA (control group 1) or routine therapeutic drug and rehabilitation treatment (control group 2). All patients will receive 20 sessions of treatment for 4 weeks. The primary outcomes are the RMS value and the Modified Ashworth Scale. Secondary outcomes include the Fugl–Meyer Assessment for Lower Extremity (FMA-LE) and the Modified Barthel Index score. All outcome measures will be evaluated at the beginning and after the intervention (4 weeks). Discussion. This trial will observe the clinical effect of GV-EA on lower extremity spasticity after stroke, especially its influence on surface electromyography characteristics, and provide high-quality experimental evidence for the clinical application of GV-EA based on surface electromyography in the treatment of poststroke lower limb spasticity. Trial Registration. China Clinical Trials Registry No. ChiCTR1900027969. Registered on 7 December 2019.
Highlights
Due to the aging population, accelerated urbanization process, and residents’ often-unhealthy lifestyles, there is an increased incidence of stroke [1]
Our previous study has demonstrated that GVEA can significantly reduce the root mean square value of the biceps and triceps and the Modified Ashworth Scale score and increase the Fugl–Meyer Assessment for upper extremity motor function score and the Modified Barthel Index score, which can effectively improve the degree of upper limb spasticity, motor function, and ability of daily life [14]
The objective evaluation methods include neurophysiological measures and biomechanical measures. e methods mainly rely on certain instruments to determine the severity of spasticity through corresponding measurement indicators, which can make up for the lack of standardization and precision of subjective evaluation scales [16]. erefore, we selected acupuncture points frequently used clinically and rehabilitation treatment as the control group to design the clinical trial to explore the efficacy of governor vessel electroacupuncture (GV-EA) in poststroke lower limb spasticity based on Surface Electromyography (sEMG) technology, which can provide a strong evidencebased medical basis for further popularizing the application of Governor vessel (GV)-EA in the treatment of lower limb spasticity in patients with stroke
Summary
Lower limb spasticity is a common complication after stroke, which seriously affects the quality of life and rehabilitation of patients. ere are different treatment methods for poststroke spasticity. Ere are different treatment methods for poststroke spasticity. Lower limb spasticity is a common complication after stroke, which seriously affects the quality of life and rehabilitation of patients. Is study aims to design a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of GV-EA in the treatment of poststroke lower limb spasticity. Is trial will observe the clinical effect of GV-EA on lower extremity spasticity after stroke, especially its influence on surface electromyography characteristics, and provide high-quality experimental evidence for the clinical application of GV-EA based on surface electromyography in the treatment of poststroke lower limb spasticity.
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