ABSTRACT
To evaluate the gastrocnemius/soleus and biceps brachii muscle stiffness
by Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) elastography in the hemiplegia
patients, sixty patients with hemiplegia after stroke were recruited. Baseline
data were collected including age, gender, body mass index, education level,
dominant side, affected side, time since stroke, stroke etiology. All patients
were evaluated with before treatment and posttreatment with Broonstroom
staging, Modified Ashworth spasticity scale, and Functional Independence
Measures scale. The patient was divided into 3 groups: 1) Neuromuscular electrical stimulation group, 2) Rehabilitation
group, 3) Neurumusculer electrical stimulation + Rehabilitation
group. Affected and unaffected side biceps and gastrocnemius, ARFI elastography
measurements were used to measure thickness and elastic values. In addition,
before and after treatment, length and thickness were measured from all patients. Of the 60 subjects,
28 were female (46.7%) and 32 (53.3%) were males, with an average age of 58.42
± 9.03 years. There was a significant difference between the upper and lower
limbs after the treatment in terms of Brunstroom staging. In
terms of Modified Ashworth scale, there was a significant difference in lower
extremity only after treatment. When compared
to the affected/unaffected side, before and after treatment, there was a
significant difference in the measurements in both the medial gastrocnemius and
the lateral gastrocnemius in all three groups. Further research with
larger numbers of patients for longer periods is needed to clarify the relationship between the muscle hardness and
degree of spasticity.