Intelligent stretching of ankle joints with contracture/spasticity.

An intelligent stretching device was developed to treat the spastic/contractured ankle of neurologically impaired patients. The device stretched the ankle safely throughout the range of motion (ROM) to extreme dorsiflexion and plantarflexion until a specified peak resistance torque was reached with the stretching velocity controlled based on the resistance torque. The ankle was held at the extreme position for a period of time to let stress relaxation occur before it was rotated back to the other extreme position.