Mobility related confidence level in chronic stroke patients through task oriented walking intervention

Introduction Stroke is a neurological insufficiency caused by cerebrovascular injury resulting in major motor deficits in lower limbs. Different therapeutic interventions are being used for stroke rehabilitation. Task oriented walking intervention is a unique approach used for stroke rehabilitation. This research work was planned to study the effects of Task-Oriented walking Interventions on improving the mobility related confidence level in chronic stroke patients. Method This randomized control trial study was conducted on 48 stroke patients in hospital settings. Informed consent was taken from all the study participants before inclusion in the study population and the data from the study subjects was collected through a specially designed questionnaire, 06 minutes-walk test (6MWT), Timed "Up and Go" test (TUG), and Activity-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale. The study population was randomly divided into two groups as experimental group and control group. Experimental group received Task-Oriented Walking Interventions and conventional treatment while control group received conventional interventions only. Results On statistical analysis, significant improvement in mobility related confidence level for all the three scales TUG, ABC and 6MWT was observed on experimental group as compared to the control group after six weeks of interventions. Conclusion The study concluded that task oriented walking interventions is an effective approach for improving mobility related confidence level in post stroke patients. Keywords: Task oriented training, Mobility related confidence, Stroke, Activity-specific Balance Confidence Scale