Assessment of upper limb spasticity in stroke patients using the robotic device REAplan
Objective: To assess the capacity of the robotic device REAplan to measure overall upper limb peak resistance force, as a reflection of upper limb spasticity. Methods: Twelve patients with chronic stroke presenting upper limb spasticity were recruited to the study. Patients underwent mus...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Medical Journals Sweden
2017-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: |
https://www.medicaljournals.se/jrm/content/html/10.2340/16501977-2248
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| Summary: | Objective: To assess the capacity of the robotic device REAplan to measure overall
upper limb peak resistance force, as a reflection of upper limb
spasticity.
Methods: Twelve patients with chronic stroke presenting upper limb spasticity were
recruited to the study. Patients underwent musculocutaneous motor
nerve block to reduce the spasticity of elbow flexor muscles. Each
patient was assessed before and after the motor nerve block. Overall
the REAplan measured upper limb resistance force. The robot passively
mobilized the patient’s upper limb at various velocities (10, 20, 30,
40 and 50 cm/s) in a back-and-forth trajectory (30 cm). The peak
resistance force was analysed for each forward movement. Ten
movements were performed and averaged at each velocity condition.
Results: The overall upper limb resistance force increased
proportionally to the mobilization velocity (p < 0.001). Resistance
force decreased after the motor nerve block at 40 and 50 cm/s (p <
0.05). Overall upper limb resistance force results showed excellent
correlation with the Modified Ashworth Scale for elbow flexor
muscles, for each velocity condition equal or higher than 30 cm/s (ρ
>0.6).
Conclusion: This study proposes a new, valid, reliable and sensitive protocol to
quantify upper limb resistance force using the REAplan, as a
reflection of upper limb spasticity. |
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| ISSN: | 1650-1977 1651-2081 |