Abstract
Objective:
The aim of this study was to compare the effects of two kinds of wrist-hand orthosis on wrist flexor spasticity in chronic stroke patients.
Design:
This is a randomized controlled trial.
Setting:
The study was conducted in a rehabilitation center.
Participants:
A total of 40 chronic hemiparetic stroke patients with wrist flexor spasticity were involved in the study.
Interventions:
Patients were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (conventional rehabilitation therapy + 3D-printed orthosis, 20 patients) or a control group (conventional rehabilitation therapy + low-temperature thermoplastic plate orthosis, 20 patients). The time of wearing orthosis was about 4–8 hours per day for six weeks.
Main measures:
Primary outcome measure: Modified Ashworth Scale was assessed three times (at baseline, three weeks, and six weeks). Secondary outcome measures: passive range of motion, Fugl-Meyer Assessment score, visual analogue scale score, and the swelling score were assessed twice (at baseline and six weeks). The subjective feeling score was assessed at six weeks.
Results:
No significant difference was found between the two groups in the change of Modified Ashworth Scale scores at three weeks (15% versus 25%, P = 0.496). At six weeks, the Modified Ashworth Scale scores (65% versus 30%, P = 0.02), passive range of wrist extension (P < 0.001), ulnar deviation (P = 0.028), Fugl-Meyer Assessment scores (P < 0.001), and swelling scores (P < 0.001) showed significant changes between the experimental group and the control group. No significant difference was found between the two groups in the change of visual analogue scale scores (P = 0.637) and the subjective feeling scores (P = 0.243).
Conclusion:
3D-printed orthosis showed greater changes than low-temperature thermoplastic plate orthosis in reducing spasticity and swelling, improving motor function of the wrist and passive range of wrist extension for stroke patients.
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Supplementary Material
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