Efficacy of therapeutic ultrasound and infrared in the management of muscle spasticity

Primary objective: This study was designed to compare the short-term effects of infrared (IR) and therapeutic ultrasound (US) on clinical and electrophysiological measures of spasticity and range of motion (ROM) in hemiplegic patients with plantar flexor muscle spasticity. Research design: A cross-sectional, single centre trial. Interventions: Ultrasound and Infrared were used. Methods and procedures: Twenty-one patients (13 males and eight females) aged 27-78 years (mean ± SD: 60.4 ± 13.2) were randomly assigned into either the US or IR treatment groups. The IR and US were delivered for 20 and 10 minutes, respectively. The H-reflex, Ashworth scale (AS) and ROM were collected before, immediately after and 15 minutes after the end of the treatment. Main outcomes and results: Both groups were statistically similar on all variables at the beginning of the study. Results indicated that the dependent variables were not significantly different between groups at the end of study. The use of IR and US was not associated with significant reductions of H-reflex and Ashworth scores. A significant main effect for time on active and passive ROM was obtained. Conclusions: It was concluded neither IR nor US reduced electrophysiological or clinical measures of spasticity in this sample of patients.