International Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Open Access

Abstract

Use of Botulinum Toxin and Phenol to Treat Muscle Tone Disorders in Adult Patients Seen at a Rehabilitation Center

Anny Michelly Paquier Binha*, Amanda Victoria Casagrande, Valeria Cassefo Silveira

Objective: To understand the epidemiological profile of the adult outpatient clinic for neurolytic block at a rehabilitation center, and to compare the outcomes, based on achieved goals and clinical parameters, with duration of injury.

Methods: A longitudinal, analytical, census-based study, with data collected from the adult chemical block outpatient clinic, between January 2022 and December 2023. The epidemiological data, number of previous blocks, initial and achieved goals, scores, type of block, side effects, results measured by the Ashworth scale, and range of motion by goniometry were extracted from the electronic medical records on the day of the injection and at the four-week reassessment visit.

Results: In the adult chemical block outpatient clinic, a total of 156 procedures were performed; in that, 51.3% of patients were male and mean age was 48.9 years. The most frequent clinical and topographic diagnoses were stroke (60.9%) and hemiparesis (66%), respectively. As to the indications of the procedures, 76.9% were positioning, 41.7% functional improvement, and 33.3% for orthotic management. The goals were achieved in 72.7% of procedures. The gastrocnemius was the muscle more often treated with botulinum toxin type A (89 cases, 28.5%), whereas the anterior branch of obturator nerve was the most frequently blocked nerve group with phenol (25 injections; 8%). There was no statistical difference between the achieved goals and duration of injury in patients undergoing the procedure (p=0.670).

Conclusion: The initial characterization of the adult chemical block outpatient clinic in 2022 and 2023 was consistent with the literature. Stroke was the most common diagnosis, and duration of injury had no impact on the outcomes of the procedure, indicating patients with a longer history of the condition may also benefit from neurochemical block.

Published Date: 2026-05-24; Received Date: 2026-04-24