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Journal ArticleDOI

A review of the properties and limitations of the Ashworth and modified Ashworth Scales as measures of spasticity

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TLDR
The application of both scales would suggest that confusion exists on their characteristics and limitations as measures of spasticity, and there is a need to standardize methods to apply these scales in clinical practice and research.
Abstract
Background: The Ashworth Scale and the modified Ashworth Scale are the primary clinical measures of spasticity. A prerequisite for using any scale is a knowledge of its characteristics and limitations, as these will play a part in analysing and interpreting the data. Despite the current emphasis on treating spasticity, clinicians rarely measure it.Objectives: To determine the validity and the reliability of the Ashworth and modified Ashworth Scales.Study design: A theoretical analysis following a structured literature review (key words: Ashworth; Spasticity; Measurement) of 40 papers selected from the BIDS-EMBASE, First Search and Medline databases.Conclusions: The application of both scales would suggest that confusion exists on their characteristics and limitations as measures of spasticity. Resistance to passive movement is a complex measure that will be influenced by many factors, only one of which could be spasticity. The Ashworth Scale (AS) can be used as an ordinal level measure of resistance to pa...

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Journal ArticleDOI

Combination Treatment of Low-Frequency rTMS and Occupational Therapy with Levodopa Administration: An Intensive Neurorehabilitative Approach for Upper Limb Hemiparesis After Stroke

TL;DR: A proposed protocol featuring levodopa administration, low-frequency rTMS, and intensive occupational therapy could provide a safe and feasible intervention for upper limb hemiparesis after stroke.
Journal ArticleDOI

Clinical assessment of ankle plantarflexor spasticity in adult patients after stroke: inter-and intra-rater reliability of the Modified Tardieu Scale.

TL;DR: The reliability of the Modified Tardieu Scale in the measurement of ankle plantarflexor spasticity in adult patients after stroke was insufficient for routine use in clinical settings and research.
Journal ArticleDOI

Feasibility and Safety of a Powered Exoskeleton for Assisted Walking for Persons With Multiple Sclerosis: A Single-Group Preliminary Study.

TL;DR: The device appeared feasible and safe for about a third of the authors' sample, for whom routine exoskeleton-assisted walking may offer secondary benefits.
Journal ArticleDOI

Inter-rater reliability of the Modified Modified Ashworth Scale as a clinical tool in measurements of post-stroke elbow flexor spasticity.

TL;DR: The MMAS yielded reliable measurements between raters when used on patients post-stroke with elbow flexor spasticity and for two inexperienced raters was very good.
References
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Book

Nonparametric statistics for the behavioral sciences

Sidney Siegel
TL;DR: This is the revision of the classic text in the field, adding two new chapters and thoroughly updating all others as discussed by the authors, and the original structure is retained, and the book continues to serve as a combined text/reference.
Book

An introduction to categorical data analysis

Alan Agresti
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a tour of categorical data analysis for Contingency Tables and Logit and Loglinear models for contingency tables, as well as generalized linear models for Matched Pairs.
Journal ArticleDOI

Interrater Reliability of a Modified Ashworth Scale of Muscle Spasticity

TL;DR: The relationship between the raters' judgments was significant and the reliability was good, and it is believed these results to be positive enough to encourage further trials of the modified Ashworth scale for grading spasticity.
Book

An Introduction to Medical Statistics

Martin Bland
TL;DR: The design of experiments, analysis of the means of small samples using the t-c Distribution, and selection of the statistical method for clinical measurement and the structure of human populations are reviewed.
Book

Introduction to multivariate analysis

TL;DR: In this article, the multivariate normal distribution is used for principal component analysis and multivariate analysis of covariance and related topics, as well as multi-dimensional scaling and cluster analysis.
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