Effects of dry needling plus exercise therapy on post-stroke spasticity and motor function: A case report

Seyedeh Saeideh Babazadeh-Zavieh; Noureddin Nakhostin Ansari; Nastaran Ghotbi; Soofia Naghdi; Korosh Mansouri; Mohammadreza Khanmohammadi; Seyed Mohammad Jafar Haeri

doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2021.101520

Effects of dry needling plus exercise therapy on post-stroke spasticity and motor function: A case report

Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2022 Feb:46:101520. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2021.101520. Epub 2021 Dec 2.

Authors

Seyedeh Saeideh Babazadeh-Zavieh¹, Noureddin Nakhostin Ansari², Nastaran Ghotbi³, Soofia Naghdi¹, Korosh Mansouri⁴, Mohammadreza Khanmohammadi¹, Seyed Mohammad Jafar Haeri⁵

Affiliations

¹ Physical Therapy Department, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
² Physical Therapy Department, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Research Center for War-affected People, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
³ Physical Therapy Department, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: nghotbi@sina.tums.ac.ir.
⁴ Neuromusculoskeletal Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁵ Department of Anatomical Sciences, Medical School, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.

PMID: 34875580
DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2021.101520

Abstract

Background and purpose: The use of dry needling (DN) with other treatments may be more beneficial in managing post-stroke spasticity. We report the effects of DN plus exercise therapy (ET) on wrist flexor spasticity.

Patient presentation: The patient was a 45-year-old man with an 8-year history of stroke. The outcome measures included the Modiﬁed Modiﬁed Ashworth Scale (MMAS), H_max/M_max ratio, H-reflex latency, Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), and range of motion (ROM) which were assessed before (T1), after (T2), and after 3-week follow-up (T3).

Conclusion: The MMAS was improved at T2 from "3" to "2". The H_max/M_max decreased from 0.77 to 0.53 at T3. The H-reflex latency increased from 15.4 ms to 18.5 ms at T3. The wrist active and passive ROM increased ∼30° and ∼20° at T2, respectively. A 4-session DN plus ET may improve spasticity and ROM. No meaningful improvement was observed in function.

Keywords: Dry needling; Exercise therapy; Motor function; Motor neuron excitability; Spasticity; Stroke.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Dry Needling*
Exercise Therapy
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Muscle Spasticity / etiology
Muscle Spasticity / therapy
Muscle, Skeletal
Stroke Rehabilitation*
Stroke* / complications
Stroke* / therapy
Treatment Outcome