Effects of focal vibration on shoulder-hand syndrome in stroke patients / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the therapeutic efficacy of focal vibration on shoulder-hand syndrome (SHS) in stroke patients.Methods Two stroke patients with SHS were observed.Both patients were treated with routine interventions including exercises,manipulation,intermittent sequential pneumatic compression,medications etc at the beginning,but got no significant improvement after 4 weeks of treatment.Focal vibration was then added on by applying it on the affected side for 10-12 minutes,once daily for 2 weeks.The SHS scoring system developed by Braus and colleagues was used to evaluate the outcome.Results It was found that after 2 weeks of treatment with focal vibration,both patients were improved significantly,in terms of pain,edema and shoulder range of movement,as reflected by the changes of SHS scores.The SHS scores of both patients were 12 before treatment with focal vibration and reduced to 5 after the treatment.Conclusions Focal vibration could be an effective option for the management of SHS in stroke patients.