Comparative Study of the Effects of Forced Use and Functional Retraining in the Improvement of Gait Pattern in Chronic Stroke Patients

Abstract

Stroke is a complex and devastating disease. Despite treatment advances, stroke remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. About 29% of stroke patients die within one year whereas 20% of these will die within three months. Prevalence rate for hemiplagia in south India was reported to be 56.9–100,000 as compared to 150–186 per 1,00,000 population for the USA and Europe.Stroke is one of the main causes of death and disability among older adults [1, 2]. Although most stroke survivors regain independent ambulation, many have difficulty performing activities of daily living, especially their self-care and household duties. Rehabilitation of the hemiplegic upper limb remains difficult to achieve, with only 5% of stroke survivors who have complete paralysis regaining functional use of their impaired arm and hand [3, 4].Studies have also shown that constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) or modified CIMT (CIMT with less training intensity) can improve some aspects of quality of life (QOL) in chronic or elderly stroke survivors. Therefore, it would appear sensible to conduct CIMT, or forced use technique (FUT) for individuals with stroke to enhance the recovery of the affected lower extremity and independence in functional mobility [5].The study of three months structured, FUT had shown improvement in stroke patient, gains were observed in prognosis of gait pattern. The present study was undertaken to determine the effect of FUT and functional retraining on the functional performance of gait pattern of chronic stroke patient. Data collected through the study showed more improvement in the gait pattern in patients with stroke in group A. Thus, it can be concluded that forced used technique is more beneficial in improving gait pattern for chronic stroke patients.

Keywords: Stroke, forced used technique (FUT), functional retraining

Cite this Article

Dowarah BP, Sharma N, Nath B. Comparative Study of the Effects of Forced Use and Functional Retraining in the Improvement of Gait Pattern in Chronic Stroke Patients. Research & Reviews: Journal of Medical Science and Technology. 2019; 8(1): 4–9p.