The Effect of a Self-rehabilitation Program in Addition to Usual Treatment for Spasticity on Impairment and Activity Limitation in Patients With Spastic Hemiparesis Following Stroke

Stroke affects 150 000 persons in France each year. Most patients have activity limitations because of the resulting motor deficit and spasticity. Autonomy in activities of daily living is reduced. The principal treatment for focal spasticity is currently intramuscular botulinum toxin injection (BTI). BTI is classically combined with only 2 to 3 sessions of out-patient physiotherapy per week. This is mainly because of a lack of out-patient therapists. However, this amount of therapy is insufficient and does not follow current literature which shows that the intensity of physiotherapy affects the recovery of impairment and activity. This gap in our health system could be filled by a self-rehabilitation program in addition to physiotherapy. Recent studies have shown that self-rehabilitation following BTI could significantly improve activity limitation (Roche et al, 2014 ; Sun et al 2010). The addition of a self-rehabilitation program to BTI and usual out-patient physiotherapy could thus increase the effects of BTI on impairment and activity limitation in patients with spastic hemiparesis following stroke.