Time course of trunk, arm, leg, and functional recovery after ischemic stroke.
BACKGROUND
Patterns of recovery provide useful information concerning the potential of physical recovery over time and therefore the setting of realistic goals for rehabilitation programs.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the time course of trunk recovery with the patterns of recovery of arm, leg, and functional ability.


METHODS
Consecutive stroke patients were recruited in 2 acute neurology wards. Participants were evaluated at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 and 6 months after stroke. Patients were assessed with the Trunk Impairment Scale, Fugl-Meyer arm and leg test, and Barthel Index.


RESULTS
Thirty-two patients were included in the study. There were no dropouts. Repeated measures analysis of the recovery patterns of motor and functional performance revealed the most striking improvement for all measures from 1 week to 1 month (P value between .0021 and <.0001) and a significant improvement from 1 month to 3 months after stroke (P value ranges from .0008 to <.0001). No significant improvement was found between 3 and 6 months after stroke for any of the measures. Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference between time course of trunk, arm, leg, and functional recovery (P = .2565). No significant differences in level of motor and functional recovery were found at the different time points.


CONCLUSIONS
Separate analyses of motor and functional recovery patterns after stroke confirm the importance of the first month for recovery. Contrary to common belief, the time course of recovery of the trunk is similar to the recovery of arm, leg, and functional ability.
Verheyden
Geert
G
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Leuven, Belgium. gv@soton.ac.uk
Nieuwboer
Alice
A
De Wit
Liesbet
L
Thijs
Vincent
V
Dobbelaere
Jan
J
Devos
Hannes
H
Severijns
Deborah
D
Vanbeveren
Stefanie
S
De Weerdt
Willy
W
D000368:Aged; D001132:Arm / Q000294:innervation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000294:innervation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000294:innervation / Q000503:physiopathology; D010291:Paresis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D020127:Recovery of Function; D020521:Stroke / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome