Effects of prolonged muscle stretching with constant torque or constant angle on hypertonic calf muscles.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the effectiveness of constant-torque prolonged muscle stretching (PMS) treatment in the inhibition of ankle hypertonia with that of constant-angle PMS treatment.


METHODS
Before-after comparison.


METHODS
A university-affiliated teaching hospital.


METHODS
Thirty subjects with hemiplegia and hypertonia in the calf muscles.


METHODS
Ankle plantarflexors were stretched using a motor-driven stretching device capable of operating in either a constant-angle or a constant-torque mode for 30 minutes of PMS treatment.


METHODS
Clinical scales, including the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) and passive range of motion (ROM), and biomechanic assessments were used to evaluate the viscoelastic components of the ankle plantarflexors before and after PMS treatment.


RESULTS
Both constant-angle and constant-torque PMS treatments significantly improved the clinical scale (MAS, ROM) assessment results and reduced the viscoelastic components of the ankle joint ( P <.05). The degree of change in the viscoelastic components was more evident in subjects with constant-torque PMS than in those with constant-angle PMS ( P <.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The present biomechanic assessments indicate that both PMS treatment modes reduced the viscous and elastic components of hypertonic muscles. The proposed constant-torque PMS treatment was more effective than the conventional constant-angle stretching technique.
Yeh
Chun-Yu
CY
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC.
Tsai
Kuen-Horng
KH
Chen
Jia-Jin
JJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009122:Muscle Hypertonia / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D009128:Muscle Spasticity / Q000517:prevention & control; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000503:physiopathology; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D019415:Torque; D016896:Treatment Outcome