Clinical effectiveness of new portable system for measuring spasticity of the stroke patients

Spasticity is a motor disorder characterized by a velocity dependent increase in muscle tone with exaggerated tendon jerks, resulting from hyper-excitability of the stretch reflex. The aim of this study is to develop a portable system for quantifying the grade of spasticity which could calculate the biomechanical as well as neurophysiologic parameters, and for determining the relationship between the Tonic Stretch Reflex Threshold (TSRT) and Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS). Eleven patients with stroke participated in the study (6 males and 5 females, the average age of 64.5±16.0 years). As a results, the mean and standard deviation values of the TSRT were 129.8±4.2, 123.4±5.2 and 119.±2.6 in the MAS 1, MAS 1+ and MAS 2 groups, respectively. Also, there was a negative correlation between the TSRT and MAS (rho=-0.72, p<0.05). This demonstrated that the TSRT could be made clinically available for the more objective and reliable evaluation of the spasticity, instead of using the conventional clinical scales and an isokinetic dynamometer.