Journal of stroke and cerebrovascular diseases : the official journal of National Stroke Association
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J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis · Nov 2017
Review Meta AnalysisPositive Effects of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy on Spasticity in Poststroke Patients: A Meta-Analysis.
Spasticity is a common and serious complication following a stroke, and many clinical research have been conducted to evaluate the effect of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) on muscle spasticity in poststroke patients. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effect on decreasing spasticity caused by a stroke immediately and 4 weeks after the application of shock wave therapy. ⋯ ESWT for the spasticity of patients after a stroke is effective, as measured by MAS grades. Moreover, no serious side effects were observed in any patients after shock wave therapy. Nevertheless, our current study with some limitations such as the limited sample size only provided limited quality of evidence; confirmation from a further systematic review or meta-analysis with large-scale, well-designed randomized control trials is required.