title: Electrophysiological evaluation of the Modified Tardieu Scale (MTS) in assessing poststroke wrist flexor spasticity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Spasticity is a common impairment following upper motor neuron lesions such as stroke. The appropriate measurement of muscle spasticity using validated tools to evaluate the outcome of therapies is important in clinical and research settings.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the concurrent criterion-related validity of the Modified Tardieu Scale (MTS) in assessing poststroke wrist flexor muscle spasticity based on its correlation with H-reflex tests.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 20 adult patients poststroke underwent clinical and electrophysiological assessment of wrist flexor muscle spasticity on the affected side. The primary outcome measures were: R2-R1 of the MTS; and the H-reflex indices of Hmax/Mmax ratio and Hslp/Mslp ratio. The Hslp and the latency of H-reflex were also measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Correlations tests did not reveal significant associations between the clinical and H-reflex tests.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that the MTS may not be a valid tool to evaluate muscle spasticity in this sample of patients after stroke.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Soofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Naghdi
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Noureddin Nakhostin
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Ansari
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abolhasani
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Korosh
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mansouri
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Nastaran
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ghotbi
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Georgia Regents University, Augusta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hasson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006181:H-Reflex / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009128:Muscle Spasticity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications*; D014953:Wrist / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: H-reflex; Modified Tardieu Scale; Stroke; spasticity; validity