| Objective: To investigate the effect of electrothermal needle combined with low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (LF-rTMS) in stroke patients with elbow flexor spasm. Methods: A total of 60 eligible stroke patients treated in the Rehabilitation Department of Wuhan Puren Hospital from August 2021 to August 2022 were selected as the research objects. They were randomly divided into control group and combined group with 30 cases in each group. The control group was treated with low-frequency rTMS on the basis of routine rehabilitation training, and the combined group was treated with electrothermal acupuncture on the basis of the control group. The muscle tension modified-ashworth scale (MAS), upper limb Fugl-meyer assessment (UFMA), activity of daily living (ADL), motor evoked potential (MEP) latency and amplitude of the two groups were compared before and 4 weeks after treatment. Results: After treatment, the MAS score, UFMA score and ADL score of the two groups were significantly improved, but the improvement in the combined group was more significant than that in the control group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in MEP latency before and after treatment and between two grou. The amplitude of the control group did not change significantly before and after treatment, but the amplitude of the combined group increased after treatment, and was significantly higher than that of the control group after treatment (P<0.05). Conclusion: Electrothermal acupuncture combined with low-frequency r-TMS has a better effect on stroke patients with elbow flexor spasm, which can significantly promote the rehabilitation of upper limb motor function and improve the ADL activities of patients. |
