A common challenge for stroke patients in recovery is spasticity, or severe muscle stiffness. Spasticity affects roughly a quarter of all stroke patients. Researchers are testing vibrating technology to help patients get unstuck.

Palo Alto

Researchers are currently exploring the use of vibrating technology as a potential aid for stroke patients who are dealing with spasticity. Spasticity, characterized by severe muscle stiffness, is a common issue that affects about 25% of individuals recovering from a stroke. The aim of this technological intervention is to assist patients in overcoming the challenges linked with muscle stiffness.

This innovative approach to stroke rehabilitation represents a promising step towards enhancing the quality of life for those affected by spasticity. By potentially enabling patients to regain more control and mobility, vibrating technology could offer a significant improvement in recovery outcomes.



Researchers testing vibrating technology to help stroke patients

Ho Wei Seng suffered a stroke in October of 2000 while in China. It left much of his left side paralyzed. They have a very good therapist and they teach me how to walk again. It's very frustrating. But luckily I still have my right side. He still deals with spasticity. The severe muscle spasms keep his arms stiff, his wrist chronically curved, his hand firmly in a fist. You or I could open our hand if we want to. They can't. But if they use their other hand to try and open their fingers, they don't want to open. They're tight. We met Stanford neurologist Dr. Martin Landsberg who both cares for stroke patients and conducts stroke research at Stanford and for the National Institutes of Health. We don't know exactly what's causing spasticity. And to some extent the brain may not be even that involved. It may be a reflex that sort of goes through your spinal cord and causes this cramping up, this spasticity of the hand and the leg. It's a totally involuntary process. Landsberg and researchers at Stanford's Mechanical Engineering Charm Lab, run by Professor Allison Okamura, just published research on a mechanical glove to improve spasticity. So while we call it a glove, it's not exactly a glove and that's on purpose because a regular glove would be almost impossible for someone with spasticity in the hand to put on. So it's been carefully designed with these sort of instructions and this kind of layout. It uses strategically placed motors to emit vibrations, similar to the buzz you feel when your cell phone rings. The vibrations feel more intense than a tickle, but lighter than a massage gun and come in different patterns. The technical term, vibrotactile stimulation. So we always use the same amount, the same intensity of the vibration. Right now, standard of care for patients can include physical therapy, muscle relaxers and Botox injections. They're temporary, require routine clinical visits and can get expensive. In a clinical trial, stroke patients with spasticity used the vibrating glove and researchers compared its effectiveness to Botox. Patients used the device for three hours each day over eight weeks, before or after they had their standard Botox. We found that our device was as good as or better than Botox in the trial. One of the things I'm most excited about is how much it seems to have already impacted the lives of the participants that were in our clinical trials. Sometimes they don't want to give us the glove back after they use it. One of those trial participants, Ho Wei Tsang. Like magic, when I wear it, turn it on, I don't know, my muscle is soft completely. I know people are going to see this story and see this glove and go, when can I get it? My loved one just recently suffered a stroke and has these spasms. That's still far off. It's far off to have a product that someone can just buy and or have their insurance pay for. But we are hoping to run new clinical trials in the future where patients could potentially sign up to have access to one of the gloves. The hope is something could be available to patients in the next two to three years. Lindsay Thies, Scripps News, Palo Alto, California.

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