Immediate effects of TECAR therapy on lower limb to decrease hypertonia in chronic stroke survivors: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Purpose

To analyze immediate effects of TECAR therapy (TT) to reduce lower limb hypertonia and improve functionality in chronic post-stroke.

Materials and methods

It is a single-blind randomized controlled clinical trial. A total of 36 chronic stroke survivors were divided into two groups. The experimental group received a single 30-minute session of TT with functional massage (FM) on lower limb. The control group received a single 30-minute session sham treatment of TT plus FM. The primary outcome measure was hypertonia (Modified Ashworth Scale, MAS). Secondary outcomes were gait speed (4-Meter Walk-Test), standing knee-flexion (Fugl-Meyer Assessment Scale IV-item), change in weight bearing ankle dorsiflexion (Ankle Lunge Test, ALT), and functional lower limb strength (5-Times Sit-to-Stand Test). All measurements were performed at baseline, immediately and 30-minutes after treatment.

Results

There was a group–time interaction in MAS-knee (p = 0.044), MAS-ankle (p = 0.018) and ALT (p = 0.016) between T1 and T0 (p<.0001) and T2 and T0 (p<.0001) for the experimental group. There was a significant increase in ALT between T1 and T0 (p = 0.003) in the control group.

Conclusions

A single session of TT performed at the same time as FM immediately reduces plantar-flexors and knee-extensor muscle hypertonia and increases change in weight bearing ankle dorsiflexion in chronic stroke survivors.

Implications for rehabilitation

• Capacitive and resistive electric transfer (TECAR) therapy may improve ankle mobility in stroke survivors.

• TECAR therapy may improve knee mobility in post-stroke.

• TECAR therapy may reduce lower limb muscle tone in stroke survivors.

• TECAR therapy could be used in combination with physiotherapy as a safe technique for the immediate reduction of hypertonia in stroke survivors.

Keywords:

• TECAR therapy
• stroke
• functional massage
• electrotherapy
• spasticity
• muscle hypertonia
• capacitive resistive electric transfer

Acknowledgements

There is an agreement and a transfer of the device between the company Wintecare and the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya. The authors have not received any payment of any kind. The authors have carried out the present research in a totally free way. The authors would like to thank all the participants in this study for their collaboration.

Ethics statement

The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Universitat Internacional de Catalunya number FIS-2021-06.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Harvard Dataverse – https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/URWVTC.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.