• Jie Xiang, Wei Wang, Weifeng Jiang, and Qiuchen Qian.
• Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Xuzhou Medical College Affiliated Hospital, 221000 Xuzhou, China. 18052268386@163.com.
• J Rehabil Med. 2018 Nov 7; 50 (10): 852-859.

ObjectiveTo evaluate whether extracorporeal shock wave therapy significantly improves spasticity in post-stroke patients.DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis.Data SourcesPubMed, EMBASE, EBSCO, Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL electronic databases.Study SelectionRandomized controlled trials assessing the effect of extracorporeal shock wave therapy on post-stroke patients with spasticity were selected for inclusion.Data ExtractionTwo authors independently screened the literature, extracted data, and assessed the quality of included studies. Primary outcome was modified Ashworth scale (MAS). Secondary outcomes were Modified Tardieu Scale (MTS), H/M ratio and range of motion.Data SynthesisEight randomized controlled trial studies (n = 385 patients) were included in the meta-analysis. There was a high level of evidence that extracorporeal shock wave therapy significantly ameliorates spasticity in post-stroke patients according to the 4 parameters: MAS (standard mean difference (SMD) -1.22; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): -1.77 to -0.66); MTS (SMD 0.70; 95% CI 0.42-0.99,); H/M ratio (weighted mean difference (WMD) -0.76; 95% CI -1.19 to -0.33); range of motion (SMD 0.69; 95% CI 0.06-1.32). However, there was no statically significant difference on the MAS at 4 weeks (SMD -1.73; 95% CI -3.99 to 0.54).ConclusionExtracorporeal shock wave therapy has a significant effect on spasticity in post-stroke patients.

11 keywords...

hide…