title: Effects of Balance Control Training on Functional Outcomes in Subacute Hemiparetic Stroke Patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the efficacy of balance control training using a newly developed balance control trainer (BalPro) on the balance and gait of patients with subacute hemiparetic stroke.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-three subacute stroke patients were assigned to either a balance control training (BCT) group or a control group. The BCT group (n=23) was trained with BalPro for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week for 2 weeks, and received one daily session of conventional physical therapy. The control group (n=20) received two sessions of conventional physical therapy every day for 2 weeks. The primary outcome was assessment with the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Secondary outcomes were Functional Ambulation Category (FAC), the 6-minute walking test (6mWT), Timed Up and Go (TUG), the Korean version of Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI), and the manual muscle test (MMT) of the knee extensor. All outcome measures were evaluated before and after 2 weeks of training in both groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were statistically significant improvements in all parameters except MMT and FAC after 2 weeks of treatment in both groups. After training, the BCT group showed greater improvements in the BBS and the 6mWT than did the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Balance control training using BalPro could be a useful treatment for improving balance and gait in subacute hemiparetic stroke patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Kyungpook National University College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Seok
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Kyungpook National University College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Yang-Soo
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Kyungpook National University College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Chul-Hyun
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Yu-Sun
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Min
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Min-Gu
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Kyungpook National University College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.; Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Tae-Du
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Jung
keywords: Gait; Postural balance; Stroke