Effect of pestle-needle stimulation on muscle spasticity and gait coordination in poststroke foot drop: A randomized controlled trial
Lanfang Qin, Hui XuObjective:
This study aims to investigate the clinical efficacy of noninvasive pestle-needle stimulation, a traditional Chinese meridian-based external stimulation technique, in improving muscle tone and functional gait coordination in patients with poststroke foot drop.
Materials and Methods:
A randomized, parallel-controlled, single-center trial was conducted involving 82 inpatients diagnosed with poststroke foot drop who were admitted to the Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China, from November 2025 to May 2026. Patients were randomly divided into a control group (
Results:
Most baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were comparable between the two groups, although the baseline DGI score was lower in the observation group than in the control group. After treatment, both groups showed improvements in MAS grades and DGI scores compared with baseline. After three courses of treatment, the observation group showed greater improvements in MAS grades (
Conclusion:
Noninvasive pestle-needle stimulation may help reduce lower-limb spasticity and improve gait coordination in patients with poststroke foot drop when used as an adjunct to routine rehabilitation. The intervention was well tolerated in this single-center trial.