| Abstrakt: |
Background: - Trunk muscles are imperative in supporting the body in sustained antigravity poses such as sitting and standing. It also serves as a stabilizing agent for the upper limb during the execution of voluntary movements. Very few studies are published that support the role of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) and Manual Perturbation (MP) exercises in the facilitation of trunk control and enhancing the lower extremity functions and mobility among the sub-acute stroke patients. Thus, through this study, an attempt was made to examine and compare the effects of the MP exercises and PNF exercises on the trunk control mechanism and lower extremity functions among sub-acute stroke survivors. Methodology/ Subject Selection: A double-blinded randomized clinical trial was carried out by recruiting 30 subjects from both genders in the subacute phase attained stroke survivors with a history of first ever stroke, who's age ranged between 50 to 70, who can able to walk with or without support. All the study participants were informed in detail about the study protocols and written consent was taken before the recruitment for this study. All the study subjects were randomly allotted into 2 groups, i.e., MP and PNF, and received interventions for a total of 8 weeks. Before the interventions, trunk stability was measured by the Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS), Lower Extremity Stability and mobility function were measured by the Dynamic Gait Index (DGI), timed up and go (TUG) test, and Gait parameters (Cadence, Affected and Non-Affected Side Step Length and Stride Length). Results: A paired t-test was used to compare differences between pre-and post-intervention, and independent t-tests were used to compare the groups. Both the groups showed improved trunk Stability and lower Extremity function for the affected limb step length (A-LSL) and Unaffected Limb Step Length (UA-LSL) components. No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups at the post-intervention level. Conclusion: The MP and PNF are equally efficient in improving trunk stability and lower extremity functions except the TUG & unaffected side step length. Thus, if both approaches are used instantaneously, a better result can be obtained in a shorter duration. Indexed Keywords: Stroke, Trunk Control, Lower Extremity Function, Manual perturbation, Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
