Efficacy of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) in Persons Receiving Botulinum Neurotoxin for Upper Extremity Spasticity — Botox + FES  

Stroke Clinical Trial

Official title: Single Blind, Randomized Study to Determine the Safety and the Efficacy of Using Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) and Repetitive Task Practice vs. Repetitive Task Practice Alone in Persons Receiving Botulinum Neurotoxin Type A Injections for Upper Extremity Spasticity

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

FES is a form of treatment with a device to aid movement in people who have had damage to their brain or spinal cord. Small electrical impulses are used to excite/stimulate the nerves that supply paralyzed muscles. This activates those muscles, enabling them to produce basic but useful movement. Self-adhesive patches (electrodes) are placed on the skin close to the nerve that supplies the muscle and are connected by wires to a stimulator that produces the impulses. In this way, FES is used to correct the muscle weakness that is caused by injury to the brain or spinal cord.

Repetitive task practice is an "activity-based" therapy program that has been shown to enhance the recovery of hand and arm functions after stroke. This therapy consists of a set of training activities that are designed by a qualified therapist specific to your functional abilities that are to be performed with the impaired hand. These activities are designed to stimulate functional improvement with repetitive practice.

Spasticity is a nervous system disorder where certain muscles are continuously contracted. Botox injections are commonly used to help to reduce spasticity in areas of the body with increased muscle tone. This research is designed to look at any additional benefit that may occur when Botox injections are combined with specific occupational therapy exercises and with a device that uses functional electrical stimulation (FES) to help improve muscle function after stroke.

Clinical Trial Description

This is a single-blinded, randomized controlled trial examining the effect of repetitive task practice (RTP) and functional electrical stimulation (FES) in individuals who receive routine clinical Botox ® injections for upper extremity spasticity. Botox® injections in combination with repetitive task practice (RTP) is used routinely to manage upper limb spasticity after stroke or acquired brain injury. RTP is an activity-based rehabilitation program that has been shown effective in promoting motor recovery (Wolf et al., 2002), but it requires a sufficient level of baseline motor function. Since FES enhances motor function, we hypothesize that an FES-assisted RTP intervention will provide greater improvement in hand function than RTP alone in patients receiving Botox ® injections.

The primary outcome will be upper extremity use during activities of daily living assessed observationally by the motor activities log (MAL-O). Secondary outcomes will be 1) dexterous hand function as measured by the action research arm test (ARAT); 2) client's perception of self-performance in activities of daily living assessed with the (MAL - Self Report); 3) global upper extremity impairment assessed by the Chedoke-McMaster Assessment (CMA); and 4) clinical spasticity assessed by the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS).

The primary endpoint will be 6 weeks post-injection. Outcomes will also be assessed at a secondary endpoint, 12 weeks post-injection, to determine the persistence of treatment effects. ;

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Double Blind (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor), Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Acquired Brain Injury
• Brain Injuries
• Muscle Spasticity
• Stroke
• Upper Extremity Spasticity

• NCT number: NCT00462449
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: University of Pittsburgh
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: November 2007
• Completion date: January 2010