ABSTRACT
Objective To observe the clinical effect of surface electrical stimulation on bladder spasm among patients with spinal cord injury,and compare it with that of therapy combining electrical stimulation with bladder function training.Methods Forty-two patients with bladder spasm after spinal cord injury were randomly divided into an experimental group (n=21) and a control group (n=21).Patients in the experimental group were further divided into three subgroups:patients with cervical spinal injury (n =7),thoracic spinal injury (n =9) and lumbar spinal injury (n =5).Both the experimental group and control group were given normal bladder function recovery exercise,while the experimental group was given the extra electrical stimulation on the surface of the sacral nerve.Urodynamic tests including the maximum detrusor pressure,bladder capacity,residual urine volume and bladder compliance were conducted for both groups before the treatment,after the first and the second 18-days of treatment and during a follow-up visit 2 months after the intervention.Results After the first course of treatment,significant differences were found in all measurements in the experimental group and most measurements of the control group except for the residual urine volume.Significant differences were found in all measurements after the second course of treatment compared to those after the first course in both groups.After the two courses of treatment and during the follow-up visit the average residual urine volume of the experiment group was significantly better than that of the control group.After the second course of treatment the average maximum detrusor pressure and bladder compliance of the experimental group were significantly better than those of the control group.Conclusion Surface electrical stimulation significantly improves the urodynamics and bladder function of patients with bladder spasm after spinal cord injury and its therapeutic effect is greater for patients with cervical and thoracic spinal injury than for those with lumber spinal injury.