Muscle tone of upper limbs evaluated by quantitative pendulum test in patients with acute cerebellar stroke

The main objective of this study was to quantify the muscle tone of upper limbs in patients with acute cerebellar stroke. Quantitative pendulum test was conducted, and model analysis was performed. Four parameters (number of swings, relaxation index, stiffness coefficient and damping coefficient) were formulated and the differences between the intact and affected sides were documented. In total, 8 subjects were recruited. While the number of swings, relaxation index and stiffness coefficient showed no difference, damping coefficient on the affected side was significantly smaller than that on the intact side by Wilcoxon signed rank test. The results indicated that the relatively lower muscle tone on the affected side of patients with acute cerebellar stroke was mainly ascribable to the smaller velocity-dependent component.