View clinical trials related to Upper Limb Hypertonia.
Filter by:Spasticity, common after a stroke, aggravates the patient's motor impairment causing pain and limitation in daily activities such as eating, dressing and walking. There are different spasticity treatments, such as botulinum neurotoxin, in the first place. Among the emerging therapies is focal extracorporeal shock wave therapy, consisting of a sequence of sonic (mechanical) impulses with high peak pressure. Systematic reviews highlighted that shock waves effectively improve lower and upper limb spasticity. Moreover, the shock waves therapeutic effect can last up to 12 weeks from the last treatment session. When used to treat stroke spasticity, the shock waves' mechanism of action is poorly detailed. On the one side, shock waves could change the physical properties of the muscular tissue (e.g. viscosity, rigidity). On the other, the shock waves produce a robust mechanical stimulation that massively activates muscle and skin mechanoreceptors (e.g. muscle spindles). This activation would modulate, in turn, the spinal (and supra-spinal) circuits involved in spasticity. To our knowledge, no study investigated the shock waves mechanism of action in stroke upper limb spasticity. Research question: do shock waves exert their therapeutic effect on spasticity by changing the muscle's physical properties or by indirectly modulating the excitability of spinal circuits? Specific aims: To investigate the mechanism of action of shock wave therapy as a treatment of upper limb spasticity after a stroke. Two major hypotheses will be contrasted: shock waves reduce hypertonia 1) by changing the muscle's physical features or 2) by changing the motoneurons excitability and the excitability of the stretch reflex spinal circuits. Shock wave therapy is expected to improve spasticity, thus improving the following clinical tests: the Modified Ashworth Scale (an ordinal score of spasticity) and the Functional Assessment for Upper Limb (FAST-UL, an ordinal score of upper limb dexterity). This clinical improvement is expected to be associated with changes in spastic muscle echotexture assessed with ultrasounds, such as an improvement in the Heckmatt scale (an ordinal score of muscle echotexture in spasticity). Clinical improvement is also expected to be associated with an improvement in the following neurophysiological parameters: a reduction of the H/Mmax ratio (an index of hyperexcitability of the monosynaptic stretch reflex circuit), a decrease in amplitude of the F waves (a neurophysiological signal reflecting the excitability of single/restricted motoneurones) and an increase of the homosynaptic depression (also known as post-activation depression, reflecting the excitability of the transmission between the Ia fibres and motoneurones). Understanding the shock wave mechanism of action will lead to a better clinical application of this spasticity treatment. If the shock waves exert their therapeutic effect by changing the muscle's physical properties, they could be more appropriate for patients with muscle fibrosis on ultrasounds. On the contrary, if the shock waves work on spasticity by indirectly acting on the nervous system's excitability, then a neurophysiology study could be used to preliminary identify the muscle groups with the most significant neurophysiological alterations, which could be the muscles benefitting the most from this treatment.
The purpose of this study is to investigate if two courses of five consecutive sessions of noninvasive spinal stimulation paired with peripheral nerve stimulation at the forearm provided by an investigational device (Doublestim™/ MyoRegulator™ System - PathMaker Neurosystems Inc.) are able to improve wrist stiffness and motor function, when combined with intensive robotic wrist training program in participants with chronic spastic hemiparesis after stroke.
Aim study 1:Assess the accuracy of PREP2 when applied in a subacute rehabilitation setting. Aim study 2: Prediction of real life UL use. Method: A prospective cohort study. Main outcome measure study 1: Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), measuring UL motor function. Main outcome study 2: use ratio between affected and unaffected UL measured by accellerometer. Secondary outcome measure: Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment for UL (FM).
Upper extremity splints are one of the nonpharmacologic treatments used to treat hypertonicity after stroke. The purpose of splinting is to support, to position, to immobilize, to prevent contracture and deformities, to reduce spasticity and to enhance function. Dynamic lycra splints have been found to improve spasticity, posture, and fluency of upper extremity movements in computerized analysis systems due to the effects of neutral warmth, circumferential pressure and by creating a low intensity prolonged stretch on hypertonic muscles , all of which contribute to increased sensory awareness of the involved limb. These splints are frequently used in the field of neurological rehabilitation, but there is not enough scientific evidence about their efficacy. It was demonstrated that lycra sleeves have positive effects on upper extremity function of children with cerebral palsy. Lycra sleeves for upper extremity function after stroke is a relatively new field of research. The aim of this study is to investigate effects of dynamic lycra orthosis as an adjunct to botulinum toxin-a injection of the upper limb in adults following stroke.