Self-made Chinese herbal compound decoction on the frequency of attacks and symptom improvement in patients with external contraction limb joint spasms

Background: After suffering a stroke, external contraction limb joint spasms frequently occur as a sequela, leading to increased muscle tension in patients and affecting the normal control of contraction and relaxation of limbs and joints, significantly impacting their daily activities and productivity. Current clinical treatments often rely on surgery or anti-spasm medications, which may be accompanied by prolonged treatment durations and significant side effects. These methods only provide short-term relief from muscle tension and spasms, falling short of satisfactory results. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore effective biomechanical therapies to alleviate limb joint spasms. Traditional Chinese medicine, with its unique theoretical framework and treatment modalities, has garnered global attention. This study aims to investigate the impact of a self-made traditional Chinese medicine compound decoction on the frequency of attacks and symptom improvement in patients suffering from external contraction limb joint spasms, hoping to offer additional avenues for the development of traditional Chinese medicine in treating limb joint spasms. Objective: To evaluate the biomechanical effects of the self-formulated Chinese medicine compound decoction on the frequency of attacks and symptom improvement in patients with external contraction limb joint spasms. Methods: A total of 94 patients with external contraction limb joint spasms following stroke were randomly allocated into two groups: the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) group and the rehabilitation group, each consisting of 47 patients. The rehabilitation group received routine symptomatic treatment for stroke and biomechanical rehabilitation training, while the TCM group received the self-formulated Chinese medicine compound decoction in addition to routine treatment and rehabilitation training. Both groups underwent continuous treatment for one month. The number of limb joint spasm attacks before and after treatment was recorded for both cohorts. Comparisons were made regarding the degree of joint spasm at the elbow, wrist, knee, and ankle joints, clinic spasticity index (CSI) scores, Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) scale scores, and activities of daily living (ADL) scores between the two cohorts before and after treatment. Clinical efficacy was also compared between the two groups. Results: No significant difference was detected in the number of limb joint spasm attacks between the two groups before treatment (P > 0.05). After treatment, the number of attacks in both groups significantly decreased compared to before treatment (P < 0.05), with a lower number of attacks in the TCM group (P < 0.05). Prior to treatment, there were no statistically significant disparities in the degree of spasm at the elbow, wrist, knee, and ankle joints between the two cohorts (P > 0.05). Following treatment, notable improvement was observed in the spasm of each joint in both groups, with better improvement in the TCM group than in the rehabilitation cohort (P < 0.05). Before treatment, we found no substantial disparities in tendon reflex, muscle tension, and spasm scores between the two groups (P > 0.05). After treatment, scores in each parameter were reduced in both cohorts, with scores lowered in the TCM group compared to the rehabilitation group (P < 0.05). Prior to treatment, no substantial differences existed in FMA and ADL scores between the two groups (P > 0.05). After treatment, both FMA and ADL scores were elevated in both groups compared to before treatment, with higher scores observed in the TCM cohort than in the rehabilitation cohort (P < 0.05). The total effective rate in the TCM group reached 95.74%, while in the rehabilitation group, it was 80.85%, with significantly higher clinical efficacy in the TCM group compared to the rehabilitation cohort (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The use of self-formulated Chinese medicine compound decoction can reduce the number of attacks and achieve a more significant improvement in symptoms for the treatment of external contraction limb joint spasms, demonstrating good biomechanical therapeutic value and deserving clinical promotion.