Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation for upper limb spasticity after stroke: effect and feasibility-a randomised pilot study.

IF 2 4区医学 Q3 HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care Pub Date : 2025-02-16 DOI:10.1136/spcare-2024-005174

Yuting Wang, Lili Zhang, Rui Yin, Yuqing Zhang, Zifeng Dai, Min Wang, Jiali Song, Xiaonong Fan, Yanan Zhang, Sha Yang, Yan Shen, Chen Yang, Qian Song, Sihan Sun, Jian Liu

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Abstract

Importance: Limb spasticity is a common issue among stroke patients. Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) is recommended as an alternative therapy for managing upper limb spasticity after stroke; however, its potential effects and feasibility remain uncertain.

Objective: To investigate the potential effects and feasibility of TEAS on motor function in patients with upper limb spasticity after stroke.

Methods: This randomised controlled, double-blined pilot study was conducted in two phases. All the patients were randomly divided into two groups: the TEAS group and the sham TEAS group. The intervention period for both TEAS and sham TEAS was 6 weeks, with each session lasting 30 min and conducted thrice weekly. The outcomes measured were the Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) score, the effective improvement rate, the modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), the Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT), the visual analogue scale (VAS), the Barthel index (BI) and the surface electromyography (sEMG).

Results: All participants completed the course of therapy. Baseline characteristics were comparable across the two groups. Compared with the sham TEAS group, the TEAS group showed significant increases in FMA-UE score (P value=0.013), WMFT score (P value=0.001) and BI score (P value=0.008) at week 6. For integrated electromyogram (p=0.048) and root mean square of the biceps (p=0.033), lower scores were identified in the TEAS group compared with the sham TEAS group with a significant difference at week 6.

Conclusion: TEAS was acceptable and feasible in participants with upper limb spasticity after stroke. A pivotal study of this therapy is justified.

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经皮穴位电刺激治疗中风后上肢痉挛：效果和可行性——一项随机试验研究。

重要性：肢体痉挛是卒中患者的常见问题。经皮穴位电刺激（TEAS）被推荐作为治疗中风后上肢痉挛的替代疗法；然而，其潜在影响和可行性仍不确定。目的：探讨tea对脑卒中后上肢痉挛患者运动功能的潜在影响和可行性。方法：本随机对照、双盲先导研究分为两个阶段进行。所有患者随机分为两组：tea组和假tea组。tea和假tea的干预期均为6周，每次持续30分钟，每周进行三次。测量结果为Fugl-Meyer评估-上肢（FMA-UE）评分、有效改进率、改良Ashworth量表（MAS）、Wolf运动功能测验（WMFT）、视觉模拟量表（VAS）、Barthel指数（BI）和表面肌电图（sEMG）。结果：所有患者均完成疗程。两组患者的基线特征具有可比性。与sham TEAS组比较，第6周时，TEAS组FMA-UE评分（P值=0.013）、WMFT评分（P值=0.001）和BI评分（P值=0.008）均显著升高。对于综合肌电图（p=0.048）和肱二头肌均方根（p=0.033），在第6周，与假tea组相比，tea组的得分较低，差异有统计学意义。结论：tea在卒中后上肢痉挛患者中是可接受和可行的。该疗法的关键研究是合理的。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care Medicine-Medicine (miscellaneous)

CiteScore

4.60

自引率

7.40%

发文量

170

期刊介绍： Published quarterly in print and continuously online, BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care aims to connect many disciplines and specialties throughout the world by providing high quality, clinically relevant research, reviews, comment, information and news of international importance. We hold an inclusive view of supportive and palliative care research and we are able to call on expertise to critique the whole range of methodologies within the subject, including those working in transitional research, clinical trials, epidemiology, behavioural sciences, ethics and health service research. Articles with relevance to clinical practice and clinical service development will be considered for publication. In an international context, many different categories of clinician and healthcare workers do clinical work associated with palliative medicine, specialist or generalist palliative care, supportive care, psychosocial-oncology and end of life care. We wish to engage many specialties, not only those traditionally associated with supportive and palliative care. We hope to extend the readership to doctors, nurses, other healthcare workers and researchers in medical and surgical specialties, including but not limited to cardiology, gastroenterology, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, paediatrics, primary care, psychiatry, psychology, renal medicine, respiratory medicine.