The effects of body weight-supported treadmill training on static and dynamic balance in stroke patients: A pilot, single-blind, randomized trial

Özet

Objectives: This study aims to compare effectiveness of isolated body weight-supported treadmill training (BWSTT) with conventional andcombined training on balance, mobility, and fear of falling in stroke patients.Patients and methods: Between November 2014 and November 2015, a total of 45 post-stroke patients (32 males, 13 females; mean age53.1±13.2 years; range, 19 to 73 years) were randomly assigned to combined training group (CombTG), conventional training group (CTG),and BWSTT group (BWSTTG). The CombTG received 45 min conventional therapy for five days a week along with 45 min of BWSTT twice aweek. The CTG received only conventional therapy for five days a week. The BWSTTG received only BWSTT twice a week. Training durationwas six weeks for all groups. Primary outcome measures were the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), affected and non-affected side Single Leg StanceTest (e-SLST/n-SLST), and Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) results. Secondary outcomes were the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I),Rivermead Mobility Index (RMI), Comfortable 10-m Walk Test (CWT), and Stair Climbing Test (SCT) results.Results: The mean change of outcome measures demonstrated that the improvements between groups were significantly different amongthe three groups, except for the CWT (p=0.135). In subgroup analysis, except for the RMI and CWT, all primary and secondary outcomemeasures improved significantly in favor of the CombTG, compared to the CTG and BWSTTG (p 0.05).Conclusion: This study demonstrates that combined training has considerable effects on balance, mobility, and fear of falling parameters,while lower frequency of isolated BWSTT is as much effective as higher frequency of conventional training in ambulatory post-stroke patients.