Deans' stroke musings: The Effects of Stretching in Spasticity: A Systematic Review

Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Wednesday, January 10, 2024

The Effects of Stretching in Spasticity: A Systematic Review

Your competent? doctor has had over 15 years to remove stretching from your stroke rehab! Is your doctor still incompetently recommending it?

The Effects of Stretching in Spasticity: A Systematic Review

Published:June 05, 2008DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2008.02.015

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Abstract

Bovend'Eerdt TJ, Newman M, Barker K, Dawes H, Minelli C, Wade DT. The effects of stretching in spasticity: a systematic review.

Objectives

To investigate the general effect of stretching on spasticity and to explore the complexity of stretching in patients with spasticity.

Data Sources

Two researchers independently performed a systematic literature search using the databases: Medline, PEDro, Cochrane library, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Allied and Complementary Medicine.

Study Selection

Studies on adults receiving a stretching technique to reduce spasticity were included.

Data Extraction

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were assessed on the PEDro scale for methodologic quality. Thirteen items from the CONSORT list and the Critical Appraisal Skills Program guideline were used to assess the methodologic quality of the other studies.

Data Synthesis

RCTs (n=10) and other clinical trials (n=11) were included. The methodologic quality of the RCTs was low, varying between 4 and 8 on the PEDro scale. All studies show great diversity at the levels of methodology, population, intervention, and outcome measures making a meta-analysis not feasible. Both manual and mechanical stretching methods were studied. Stretching protocols were generally inadequately described and poorly standardized. The outcome measures used often assessed impairments such as available range of motion but were unable to distinguish between neural and nonneural components of spasticity. Associated functional benefits were not usually investigated. Although there is some positive evidence supporting the immediate effects of 1 stretching session, it remains unclear how long these effects abide and its long-term consequences.

Conclusions

There is a wide diversity in studies investigating the effects of stretching on spasticity, and the available evidence on its clinical benefit is overall inconclusive. We recognize the need for consensus on a paradigm for stretching and for good-quality studies. Future research should address this issue and should investigate the clinical importance of the short- and long-term effects.