ArticleAnnals of rehabilitation medicine2013
The effect of extracorporeal shock wave therapy on lower limb spasticity in subacute stroke patients.
Article in Annals of rehabilitation medicine, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07364110 (Comparison of High Intensity Laser Therapy), which is not on this map. Cited by 37 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Comparison of High Intensity Laser Therapy (HILT) and Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT) for the Treatment of Plantar Flexor Spasticity in Post-Stroke Patients
Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Efficacy of extracorporeal shock wave therapy for post-stroke spasticity and dose-response analysis: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review on extracorporeal shock wave therapy and botulinum toxin for spasticity treatment: a comparison on efficacy.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Shock Waves as a Treatment Modality for Spasticity Reduction and Recovery Improvement in Post-Stroke Adults - Current Evidence and Qualitative Systematic Review.Clinical interventions in aging · 2020Pooled it
- Efficacy of different frequencies of extracorporeal shockwave on plantar flexor spasticity of the ankle in patients with stroke: a single-center, prospective, single-blind, randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Trial
- Dose-response effectiveness of focused shockwave therapy on ultrasonographic muscular properties in patients with stroke exhibiting ankle spasticity.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Clinical study of combined mirror and extracorporeal shock wave therapy on upper limb spasticity in poststroke patients.International journal of rehabilitation research. Internationale Zeitschrift fur Rehabilitationsforschung. Revue internationale de recherches de readaptation · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Effects of Different Numbers of Stimulations in Single-Session Radial Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy on Spasticity Improvement in Individuals With Subacute Hemiparetic Stroke: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Efficacy of radial shock wave therapy for ankle spasticity in patients with stroke within 3 months of onset: a prospective quasi-experimental study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy in post-stroke spasticity patients: Evaluation with shear wave elastography.Turkish journal of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Immediate effects of extracorporeal radial pressure wave therapy on dystonia, static plantar pressure distribution, and balance in patients with Parkinson's disease.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Article
- The Effect of Radial Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (rESWT) on the Skin Surface Temperature of the Longissimus Dorsi Muscle in Clinically Healthy Racing Thoroughbreds: A Preliminary Study.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Extracorporeal shock wave for plantar flexor spasticity in spinal cord injury: A case report and review of literature.World journal of clinical cases · 2023Article
- Article
- Effect of extracorporeal shock wave therapy on spastic equinus foot in children with unilateral cerebral palsy.Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences · 2022Article
- Physical therapy interventions for the correction of equinus foot deformity in post-stroke patients with triceps spasticity: A scoping review.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Article
- Effectiveness of Radial Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy and Visual Feedback Balance Training on Lower Limb Post-Stroke Spasticity, Trunk Performance, and Balance: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Article
- Recent Advances in the Treatment of Spasticity: Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo evaluate the effect of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) on lower limb spasticity in subacute stroke patients.
methodsWe studied thirty hemiplegic subacute stroke patients with ankle plantar flexor spasticity. ESWT was applied for 1 session/week, with a total of 3 sessions at the musculotendinous junction of medial and lateral gastrocnemius muscles. Patients were evaluated both clinically and biomechanically at baseline, after sham stimulation, and at immediately 1 week and 4 weeks after ESWT. For clinical assessment, Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), clonus score, passive range of motion of ankle, and Fugl-Myer Assessment for the lower extremity were used. A biomechanical assessment of spasticity was conducted by an isokinetic dynamometer. Two parameters, peak eccentric torque (PET) and torque threshold angle (TTA), were analyzed at the velocities of 60°/sec, 180°/sec, and 240°/sec.
resultsAfter sham stimulation, there were no significant changes between each assessment. MAS and PET (180°/sec and 240°/sec) were significantly improved immediately and 1 week after ESWT. However, these changes were not significant at 4 weeks after ESWT. PET (60°/sec) and TTA (60°/sec, 180°/sec, and 240°/sec) were significantly improved immediately after ESWT. Yet, these changes were not significant at 1 week and 4 weeks after ESWT as well.
conclusionLower limb spasticity in subacute stroke patients was significantly improved immediately after ESWT. Although the therapeutic effect of ESWT reduced with time and therefore was not significant at 4 weeks after ESWT, the degree of spasticity was lower than that of the baseline. Future studies with a larger sample of patients are warranted in order to verify the protocols which can optimize the effect of ESWT on spasticity.
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Registered trials
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