Evaluating the spasticity level during the rehabilitation process: a survey of traditional methods and a new trend

Spasticity is a neurological disorder that harms individuals affected by it in many aspects. Thus, in an attempt to restore their normal functions, patients are referred to rehabilitation. However, as a fundamental requirement of any treatment, it is important to obtain a reliable diagnosis to propose a treatment consistent with the actual need of the patient. This study aimed to know about the therapists that treat spasticity, their satisfaction degree related to the applied assessment methodology, and if they are interested in an equipment that could provide objective results. A questionnaire was formulated and released in Google Forms platform. It was applied from January to February of 2018 and answered by 102 health care professionals. The results identified that the known and used methods by therapists for clinical evaluation of spasticity depends on their expertise and are considered subjective evaluations. Also, more than 92% of the health care professionals, who answered the questionnaire are interested in dedicated equipment to measure spasticity in clinical practice. Thus, confirming the demand of them by portable equipment that is easy to handle and of high reliability to measure spasticity in practice.