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Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy for Spasticity in People With Spinal Cord Injury

NCT05432999 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 5

Last updated 2026-03-25

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

People with spinal cord injury (SCI) experience a host of secondary complications that can impact their quality of life and functional independence. One of the more prevalent complications is spasticity, which occurs in response to spinal cord damage and the resulting disruption of motor pathways. Common symptoms include spasms and stiffness, and can occur more than once per hour in many people with SCI. Spasticity can have a negative impact over many quality of life domains, including loss of functional independence, activity limitations, and even employment. Its impact on health domains is also pronounced, with many people who have spasticity reporting mood disorders, depression, pain, sleep disturbances, and contractures. Spasticity can interfere with post-injury rehabilitation and lead to hospitalization. There are many treatments for spasticity in this population. However, many do not have long-term efficacy, and, if they do, they are often pharmacological in nature and carry side effects that could limit function or affect health. The goal of this pilot, randomized-controlled study is to investigate the potential efficacy and safety of a non-invasive treatment with a low side effect profile, extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT). ESWT has shown some benefits in people with post-stroke spasticity with no long term side effects. Thirty individuals with chronic, traumatic SCI will be recruited. Fifteen will be provided with ESWT while the other fifteen will be given a sham treatment. Clinical and self-report measures of spasticity and its impact on quality of life will be collected, as well as quantitative ultrasound measures of muscle architecture and stiffness. The ultimate goal of this pilot project is to collect the data necessary to apply for a larger randomized-controlled trial. Conducting a larger trial will allow for a more powerful estimation of safety and efficacy of ESWT as a treatment for spasticity in people with SCI.

Conditions

  • Spinal Cord Injuries
  • Spasticity, Muscle
  • Spastic Paraplegia
  • Spastic Quadriplegia
  • Spastic Tetraplegia
  • Paraplegia
  • Tetraplegia

Interventions

DEVICE

Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy

Shockwaves are high pressure sound waves that interact with tissues to elicit a biological response. The shockwave probe will be placed on the skin with ultrasound gel and the muscle will be stimulated for a few minutes.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Kessler Foundation

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2022-09-01
Primary Completion
2025-11-01
Completion
2025-12-01
FDA Device
Yes

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05432999 on ClinicalTrials.gov