OBJECTIVES: Stroke patients may have various sensory-motor disorders, such as spasticity, muscle weakness or sensory damage. Spasticity affects 20% to 40% of stroke patients. Patients with spasticity may have problems such as pain, motor function damage, and the decreased range of motion, which leads to decline of activity and quality of daily life. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is a technique that can improve post-stroke spasticity. Whole body vibration (WBV), as a passive neuromuscular muscle stimulation technique, can improve the posture control, muscle strength, and muscle work of different people. At present, there are still few studies using WBV combined with ESWT for the treatment of hemiplegic patients with stroke. This study aims to explore the effects of WBV combined with ESWT on spasticity of the affected lower limb and gait function in stroke patients. METHODS: From March 2020 to March 2021, 50 hemiplegic patients with stroke were treated in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of the First Hospital of Changsha and they were assigned into a control group and a combined group, 25 cases per group. Both groups carried out conventional treatment, while the control group undertook the ESWT and fake WBV based on conventional treatment, and the combined group undertook ESWT after WBV and conventional treatment. Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), Lower Extremity portion of the Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment (FMA-LE), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and parameters of three-dimensional gait analysis including kinematic parameters (peak value of hip flexion and knee flexion) and spatiotemporal parameters (velocity, cadence and stride length) were assessed before and after 4-week treatment between the 2 groups. RESULTS: After 4 weeks of treatment, MAS scores in 2 groups were lower than before (both P<0.05), and the combined group was lower than the control group (P<0.001); BBS and FMA-LE scores were higher than those before treatment (both P<0.05), and the combined group was higher than the control group (both P<0.001); in the control group, the walking speed, stride frequency, and stride length were higher than those before treatment (all P<0.05), and there was no significant difference between the peak value of flexion hip and peak value of flexion knee (both P<0.05); the peak value of hip flexion, peak value of knee flexion, step speed, step frequency, and stride length in the combined group were higher than those before treatment (all P<0.05), and were higher than those in control group (P<0.05 or P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS WBV combined with ESWT can improve the spasticity and motor function of the affected lower extremity, balance, and gait in hemiplegic patients with stroke.
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy ; Gait ; Hemiplegia/therapy* ; Humans ; Muscle Spasticity/therapy* ; Stroke/complications* ; Stroke Rehabilitation/methods* ; Treatment Outcome ; Vibration/therapeutic use*

ObjectiveTo make a preliminary investigation on the safety and efficacy of focused low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave therapy (LI-ESWT) in the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED).

METHODSWe treated 32 ED patients by focused LI-ESWT with the device of Medispec's ED1000. Before and at 4 and 12 weeks after treatment, we evaluated the erectile function of the patients using the International Index of Erectile Function-erectile function domain (IIEF-EF), Erection Hardness Score (EHS), Sexual Encounter Profile questions 2 and 3 (SEP2 and SEP3), and Global Assessment Questionnaire questions 1 and 2 (GAQ1 and GAQ2), and recorded the incidence rate of adverse events.

RESULTSThe patients averaged 30.69 years of age. Compared with the baseline, the mean IIEF-EF score of the patients was significantly increased at 4 and 12 weeks after LI-ESWT (14.94 vs 20.97 and 21.47, P <0.01), and so were the EHS (1.75 vs 2.66 and 2.56, P <0.01) and the "Yes" answers to SEP2 (21.88% vs 68.75% and 71.88%), SEP3 (0 vs 43.75% and 56.25%), GAQ1 (NA vs 81.25% and 71.88%) and GAQ2 (NA vs 65.63% and 68.75%). The total effectiveness rates at 4 weeks and 12 weeks were 75% and 71.88% respectively. One of the patients felt penile shaft pain with mild ecchymosis after LI-ESWT but was recovered without special treatment a week later.

CONCLUSIONSLI-ESWT can significantly improve the erectile function of ED patients with no obvious adverse effects within 12 weeks after treatment.

Adult ; Double-Blind Method ; Ecchymosis ; etiology ; Erectile Dysfunction ; therapy ; Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy ; adverse effects ; methods ; Humans ; Male ; Pain, Procedural ; Penile Erection ; physiology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Treatment Outcome

ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical effect of low-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy (LI-ESWT) on Peyronie's disease.

METHODSFrom October 2016 to December 2017, we treated 32 cases of Peyronie's disease by LI-ESWT, with the therapeutic index of 0.09 mJ/mm2 and a pulse frequency of 120 beats/min. Each plaque was approached from two angles, each angle with a shockwave output of 900 times, and the larger ones from three points, each with an output of 600 times in addition to 300 times from the distal and proximal ends of the plaque, respectively. All the patients received 12 courses of treatment (2 courses a week) with a break of 3 weeks between the 1st and 2nd 6 courses. Then we observed the plague size and penile curvature of the patients, obtained their scores on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and International Index of Erectile Function 5 (IIEF-5), and recorded their adverse reactions.

RESULTSThe plagues were softened or diminished in different degrees in 9 of the 32 cases and erectile pain was alleviated in 15 cases after treatment. Penile curvature at erection, however, showed no significant improvement. The IIEF-5 scores were increased in 18 of the patients complicated with varied degrees of erectile dysfunction after LI-ESWT. No obvious complications were observed in any of the patients.

CONCLUSIONSLow-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy has a certain effect on Peyronie's disease by relieving plague-induced pain and improving the patient's penile erection and quality of life.

Erectile Dysfunction ; Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy ; methods ; Humans ; Lithotripsy ; Male ; Pain Management ; Penile Erection ; Penile Induration ; pathology ; therapy ; Penis ; pathology ; Quality of Life ; Therapeutic Index ; Treatment Outcome ; Visual Analog Scale

OBJECTIVE: To explore the therapeutic effect of multiple small diameter drilling combined with extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) under C-arm X-raylocalization in patients with early osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). METHODS: A total of 106 cases of early ONFH patients admitted from May 2015 to May 2017 were retrospectively selected as the study subjects. According to different treatment methods, the patients were divided into observation group and control group, 53 cases in each group. The observation group was treated with multiple small-diameter drilling combined with ESWT under C-arm positioning in the observation group, including 41 males and 12 females with an age of (45.85±6.01) years old (22 to 70 years old);and the control group was treated with ESWT, including 34 males and 19 females with an age of (45.12±5.83) years old(20 to 68 years old) in the control group. The modified Harris hip scores(mHHS), visual analog scale(VAS), hip flexion range, hip abduction and adduction range, ONFH area ratio and clinical efficacy were compared between twe groups before and after treatment. Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw a survival curve to compare the femoral head survival rate between two groups during the 3-year follow-up period after treatment. RESULTS: There were no complications such as poor wound healing and infection. All of 106 patients were followed up for 28 to 36 months with an average of (31.06±4.28) months. MHHS score, hip flexion range and hip abduction and adduction range in the observation group were increased from (63.85±5.42) scores, (23.79±2.21) °, (32.40±4.19) ° before treatment to (85.51±5.69) scores, (34.65±2.73)°, (43.32±5.71)° at 2 years after treatment, respectively(P<0.05). The above indicators in the control group increased from (64.73±5.64)°, (23.82±2.18)°, (32.45±4.13)° before treatment to (81.65±5.48) scores, (32.79±2.87)°, (39.75±5.68)°at two years after treatment, respectively(P<0.05). VAS score and ONFH area ratio in the observation group decreased from (5.76±1.41) scores and (35.07±4.96)% before treatment to (3.39±1.02) scores and (22.04±3.23)% at 2 years after treatment, respectively(P<0.05). The above indicatiors in control group decreased from (5.73±1.45) scores and (35.24±5.18)% before treatment to (4.43±1.21) scores and (28.32±3.76)% at 2 years after treatment, respectively(P<0.05), and the improvement in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P<0.05). At 3 years after treatment, the femoral head survival rate in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Multiple small diameter drilling combined with ESWT under C-arm positioning can significantly improve the clinical symptoms of patients with early ONFH, relieve pain and improve clinical efficacy.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult ; Aged ; Femur Head ; Retrospective Studies ; Femur Head Necrosis/diagnosis* ; Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy/methods* ; Treatment Outcome