To investigate the effects of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) combined with
deep muscle stimulator (DMS) on triceps surae spasticity in stroke patients. Methods: A total of 69 stroke
patients with triceps surae spasticity were randomly divided into the DMS group, the ESWT group, and the
combination group, with 23 cases in each group. All three groups received conventional rehabilitation manual
therapy and did not take any anti-spasticity medications. The DMS group received additional DMS treatment, the
ESWT group received additional ESWT treatment, and the combination group received both DMS and ESWT
treatment. The treatment course lasted for 4 weeks. All three groups were assessed before and after treatment
using the Composite Spasticity Scale (CSS), the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), the active range of motion of
ankle dorsiflexion (AROM), and the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) for the lower extremities. The results were
compared and analyzed among the three groups. Results: At the 2nd and 4th weeks of treatment, the CSS
scores, MAS scores, AROM values, and lower extremity FMA scores of all three groups were significantly
improved compared with those before treatment (P<0.05), and all outcome measures at the 4th week were
significantly better than those at the 2nd week within each group (P<0.05). Compared with the DMS group, the
ESWT group showed varying degrees of improvement in all outcome measures (P<0.05). Compared with both
the DMS group and the ESWT group, the combination group showed significantly higher scores in all outcome
measures (P<0.05). Conclusion: ESWT combined with DMS can significantly alleviate triceps surae spasticity
and improve lower extremity function in stroke patients, with better therapeutic effects observed with a longer
treatment duration.
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