The Effects of Surface Electrical Stimulation on Spasticity in Spinal Cord Injured Patients

Kim, Seong Woo; Park, Chang Il; Chon, Joong Son; Kim, You Chul; Shin, Ji Cheol; Kim, Yong Wook

Abstract

The current available treatment methods of spasticity are consisted of physical therapies, medications, surgeries, injections of phenol or botulinum, and electrical stimulations. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of surface electrical stimulation in reducing spasticity in the spinal cord injured patients, to find out carry-over effects of electrical stimulation and to find out the factors influencing the effects of the treatment. The subjects were 10 quadriplegics with the cervical cord injuries. The electrical stimulation was applied to the antagonists of major spastic muscles of the knee joints for 2 weeks. The evaluation of spasticity were done by using the modified Ashworth scale, beats of ankle clonus, patellar tendon reflex(latency and amplitude), and relaxation index of patellar knee by pendulum test before and after treatment sessions. The results of the study revealed no statistically significant changes in relaxation index, modified Ashworth scale, ankle clonus and the latency and amplitude of patellar tendon reflex(P<0.05), however there were tendencies of improvement in relaxation index and modified Ashworth scale after the stimulations. We could not find out statistically significant factors influencing the effects of the surface electrical stimulation. Further investigations to assess the mechanism of electrical stimulation and the adquate parameters of electrical stimulation in a larger population of subjects will be needed.