Managing spasticity and contracture with vibration and standing frames
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Managing Contracture and Spasticity with Standing Frame Vibration: Feasibility Study Using the ORLAU Standing Frame V.1
IRAS ID
174094
Contact name
Andrew Roberts
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 6 days
Research summary
Brain injury is frequently accompanied by the development of lower limb joint deformities as a result of weakness and spasticity (muscle overactivity). As a result of weakness the patients are often unable to mobilise (e.g. walk, transfer from a bed to a chair) and the muscle overactivity then leads to a joint (or joints) being held in a fixed position. The resulting functional impairments associated with joints being held in a fixed position lead to rapid and, in some extreme cases, irreversible, joint deformities called contractures. Contractures frequently occur at the hip, knee and ankle.
Standing frames are commonly used to prevent these contractures and, if contractures are not permanent, reduce their magnitude once they have developed. Vibration has been reported as being a beneficial addition to standing frame use for patients with cerebral palsy, stroke and spinal cord injury, conditions which are all complicated by the development of lower limb contractures in association with spasticity. The ORLAU standing frame has been developed to manage lower limb contractures in adults and children over the past 30 years. Because of its engineered construction it is ideally suited to provide controlled delivery of vibration to the skeleton and muscles of the lower limbs. Our pilot project will capture the user experience and short term efficacy with regards to range of motion and measures of lower limb spasticity in three patients with traumatic brain injury.
REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/WM/0198
Date of REC Opinion
3 Aug 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion