title: Pregait balance rehabilitation in acute stroke patients.
abstract: Rehabilitation interventions designed to enhance balance control in individuals with acute stroke are quite limited. The goal was to develop and assess a technique of early pregait balance training involving the use of a combination of force platform visual feedback and the unweighting system in individuals with recent stroke. A total of 28 individuals with acute stroke were randomly divided into the experimental and control groups: individuals included in the experimental group received 1 week of treatment on the basis of retraining balance utilizing visual biofeedback (Balance Master) while provided with a body weight support harness system, whereas the individuals in the control group received conventional treatment. Both the groups undertook identical tests (Fugl-Meyer Balance test, Functional Independence Measure test for gait, and Fugl-Meyer lower extremity assessment) before the start of treatment and after its completion. Individuals in the experimental group showed larger gains as seen in the increased scores of the Fugl-Meyer Balance test and the Functional Independence Measure test for gait as compared with the control group. The outcome of the study provides a basis for future investigations of the applicability of the intervention in early balance rehabilitation of individuals with neurological disorders.
authors.affiliation: Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital, Wheaton, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Noel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zielke
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.forename: Asha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Krieger
authors.forename: Alexander S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Aruin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010291:Paresis / Q000534:rehabilitation; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation