Top Stroke Rehabil
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Objective: To assess the effectiveness of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT) to reduce lower limb spasticity in adult stroke survivors. Data Sources: A systematic review of Medline/Pubmed, CENTRAL, CINAHL, PEDro database, REHABDATA, Scielo, Scopus, Web of Science, Trip Database, and Epistemonikos from 1980 to December 2018 was carried out. Review Methods: The bibliography was screened to identify clinical trials (controlled and before-after) that used ESWT to reduce spasticity in stroke survivors. ⋯ MD was 1.5; 95% CI -2.44 to 5.44 at long-term (9 weeks). Conclusion: The ESWT (radial/focused) would be a good non-invasive rehabilitation strategy in chronic stroke survivors to reduce lower limb spasticity, increase ankle range of motion, and improve lower limb function. It does not show any adverse events and it is a safe and effective method.