[Comparative efficacy of different muscle relaxants in the rehabilitation of post-stroke patients with spasticity]

Abstract

An influence of different muscle relaxants on muscle tone and functional rehabilitation has been studied in 360 post-stroke patients. Muscle tone has been assessed with the Ashworth scale and functional rehabilitation with Barthel, Lindmark and Scandinavian scales as well as the Merton & Sutton scale. Efficacy of muscle relaxants has been assessed by the 2 min. walking test. Moreover, we suggested a coefficient for calculating drug efficacy. The results of the study revealed that tolperisone was the most efficient in the treatment of post-stroke patients with spasticity. Tizanidine was also effective but to a lesser extent. Other drugs studied did not reveal any significant effect. Tolperisone had a good tolerability, the adverse effects in patients treated with this drug were registered more rarely compared to other ones.