Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Neck Pattern and Trunk Specific Exercise on Trunk Control and Balance-an Experimental Study.

Background: Most stroke survivors continue to live with disabilities and may require physical rehabilitation to control the trunk and balance during the post-stroke period. The cause of lack of trunk control and balance among stroke patients is the weakened trunk muscle strength.

Purpose: To study the effect of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) neck pattern and trunk-specific exercise on trunk control and balance among stroke patients.

Setting: The study was conducted at the medical wards of Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, India.

Participants: Sixty patients with stroke who met the inclusion criteria participated in the study.

Research design: This is a quasi-experimental study.

Intervention: PNF trunk-specific exercise was administered to the experimental group for 45 min of 28 sessions, which contained 15 min of stretching exercise and 30 min trunk-specific exercise. The control group received routine hospital care services.

Main outcome measures: The study's primary outcome was balance and trunk control, measured by the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS) before the intervention and at the end of the intervention of 28 days.

Results: Within-group analysis, paired t test showed a significant improvement comparing the trunk control and balance score before (13.40±1.04 & 25.40±1.81) and after (15.03±0.96 & 27.07± 1.48) the intervention in the experimental group (p < .001). Between-group analysis, both the experimental and control group post-test mean score of TIS (15.03±0.96 &13.70±1.15) and BBS (27.07±1.48 & 25.30±1.73) showed significant difference (p < .001).

Conclusion: PNF neck pattern and trunk-specific exercise used in this study effectively improved balance and trunk control among patients with stroke.