The efficacy of traditional Thai massage in decreasing spasticity in elderly stroke patients.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

To study the efficacy of traditional Thai massage (TTM) versus conventional physical therapy (PT) programs in treating muscle spasticity, functional ability, anxiety, depression, and quality of life (QoL) in Thai stroke patients.

Methods

This randomized controlled trial with a blinded assessor was carried out at the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Siriraj Hospital (Bangkok, Thailand). The study included 50 stroke (onset ≥ 3 months) outpatients experiencing spasticity at the elbow or knee muscles at a grade of ≥ 1+ on the modified Ashworth Scale who were ≥ 50 years old and able to communicate. The subjects were randomly allocated to the treatment group receiving TTM (24 subjects) or the control group receiving the PT program (26 subjects). Both groups received

SUBMITTER: Thanakiatpinyo T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4136956 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature