AIM The objective of the present study was to estimate the influence of the driven gait orthosis Lokomat on the functional mobility in the post-stroke hemiparethic patients and to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the improvement of functional mobility after the treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study included 141patients presenting with post-stroke hemiparesis of the mean duration 12.00...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Shoulder pain is frequent after stroke and interferes with the rehabilitative process and outcome. However, treatments used for hemiplegic shoulder pain are limited and largely ineffective. This prospective, randomized, double-blind controlled study was conducted to compare the efficacies of botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) and triamcinolone acetonide (TA) on hemiplegic sh...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Alterations of gait cycle and foot-drop on the paretic limb are characteristic of stroke patients. Electromyographic biofeedback treatment has been used in rehabilitation of walking, but results are controversial. We performed gait analysis to evaluate the efficacy of electromyographic biofeedback compared with physical therapy. METHODS Sixteen patients with ischemic st...

QUESTION Is strength training after stroke effective (ie, does it increase strength), is it harmful (ie, does it increase spasticity), and is it worthwhile (ie, does it improve activity)? DESIGN Systematic review with meta-analysis of randomised trials. PARTICIPANTS Stroke participants were categorised as (i) acute, very weak, (ii) acute, weak, (iii) chronic, very weak, or (iv) chronic, wea...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Spasticity is a disabling complication of stroke and different noninvasive treatments are used to reduce muscle hypertonia. Shock waves are defined as a sequence of single sonic pulses largely used in the treatment of diseases involving bone and tendon as well as muscular contractures. The effect and duration of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) was investigated on...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this pilot study was to examine changes in different aspects of impairment, including spasticity in the upper limbs, of hemiplegic children following botulinum toxin type A intervention. Progress was assessed using standard clinical measurements and a robotic device. DESIGN Pre-post multiple baseline. SUBJECTS Six children with hemiplegia. METHODS Botulinium toxin typ...

This study presents the evaluation results of a clinical trial of robotic-assisted rehabilitation in Virtual Reality performed with the PERCRO L-Exos (Light-Exoskeleton) system, which is a 5-DoF force-feedback exoskeleton for the right arm. The device has demonstrated itself suitable for robotic arm rehabilitation therapy when integrated with a Virtual Reality (VR) system. Three different schem...

The clinical assessment of spasticity in stroke patients generally includes descriptive scales, such as the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) and the Global Pain Scale (GPS), however these may not be sufficiently sensitive to accurately detect improvements, especially at upper limb level; electromyography (EMG) may be the answer to this clinical requirement. The aim of this study was to quantify th...

Background. Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause leading to childhood disability. Human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB-MSCs) transplantation is a promising alternative considering the safety and efficacy in current reports. This report represents a case of hUCB-MSCs transplantation combined with basic rehabilitation treatment beginning as early as age 6 months with fo...

Poststroke spasticity (PSS) is associated with significant consequences for a patient's functional status and quality of life. Nonetheless, no uniform definition of spasticity exists that can be utilized across clinical research settings, and difficulties in validating proper assessment tools--both clinical and nonclinical--complicate the ability to evaluate and appropriately treat spasticity. ...