Effects of extracorporeal shock wave therapy on upper extremity muscle tone in chronic stroke patients

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) on upper extremity muscle tone in chronic stroke patients. [Subjects and Methods] For this study, 30 stroke patients participated in this study and they were divided into ESWT group and sham-ESWT group, each group consisted of 15 patients. ESWT and sham-ESWT was performed by the patients for two times a week, for eight weeks. MyotonPRO was used to measure muscle tone. [Results] According to the results of the comparisons between the groups, after intervention, upper extremity muscle tone were significantly higher in the ESWT group than in the sham-ESWT group. [Conclusion] This study showed that ESWT is effective for improving decrease of muscle tone in chronic stroke patients.