Effect of early trunk control training on balance function of patients with acute stroke

Abstract

Background Trunk is the core part of human body, and plays an important role in maintaining the body balance. Studies show that trunk control training can improve the balance function and mobility ability, and promote motor function and activities of daily living (ADL) of stroke patients. This study aims to investigate the effect of early trunk control training on the recovery of balance function of acute stroke patients.  Methods A total of 120 patients with acute ischemic stroke (duration ≤ 14 d) were randomly divided into 2 groups: control group [N = 60, 39 males and 21 females; age 23-85 years, mean age (63.43 ± 13.61) years; duration 1-13 d, median duration 4.12 (2.30, 6.09) d] and observation group [N = 60, 40 males and 20 females; age 20-84 years, average age (62.55 ± 13.77) years; duration 1-12 d, median duration 4.19 (2.48, 6.30) d]. Control group was given routine drug treatment plus rehabilitation education and guidance, and observation group was given routine drug treatment, rehabilitation education and guidance plus trunk control training. Fugl-Meyer Assessment Scale-Balance (FMA-Balance) and Modified Rivermead Mobility Index (MRMI) were used to evaluate the balance function of patients in both groups before training and after 2-week training.  Results All patients finished the rehabilitation training programme without adverse reactions. Compared with before training, the scores of FMA-Balance ( P =0.000) and MRMI ( P = 0.000) were significantly increased after 2-week training in both groups. Compared to control group, the scores of FMA-Balance ( P = 0.002) and MRMI ( P = 0.002) were significantly increased after 2-week training in observation group.  Conclusions Early trunk control training can significantly improve the balance function and motor ability of patients with acute stroke. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2017.04.005