Effectiveness of ultrasound-guided botulinum toxin injection combined with orthosis training in the treatment of lower limb spasticity / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the effect of ultrasound-guided injection of botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) combined with orthosis training for the treatment of lower limb spasticity for children with cerebral palsy.Methods Fifty-four patients with spastic cerebral palsy were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group using a random number table.Patients in the control group were given conventional rehabilitation training,while those in the observation group were additionally given ultrasound-guided BTX-A injection,followed by daily knee-ankle-foot orthosis rehabilitation training 24 h after the injection.Before and 6 weeks after treatment the lower limb function of the 2 groups was evaluated using the modified Ashworth scale (MAS) and the gross motor function measure (GMFM).Adductor angles,popliteal angles and motor ranges of the ankle joint were also measured and compared.Results After 6 weeks the average MAS scores were lower than before treatment in both observation[(1.26±0.63) vs (3.07±0.68)] and control group [(2.56±0.71) vs (2.89±0.64).And in both groups the average GMFM scores,adductor angles and popliteal angles,as well as range of motion of the ankle were all much better than before treatment.The observation group,however,improved significantly more than the control group(P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Ultrasound-guided injection of BTX-A can effectively alleviate spasticity of lower extremity for children with cerebral palsy with accurate positioning,obvious curative effect and less adverse reactions.Knee-ankle-foot orthosis rehabilitation training after the injection can further alleviate spasticity and improve the motor function of the limbs.