Article

Rehabilitation after severe stroke is often limited because of
impairments in sensorimotor function. Functional and physiological recovery after
severe stroke is poorly understood and has not been studied extensively.
This study's purpose was to examine functional and physiological
recovery of standing balance during inpatient rehabilitation in people with
severe impairments after stroke. METHODS: A total of 10 participants with severe
impairments after stroke were evaluated monthly in a stroke rehabilitation unit
with the following functional outcome measures: Berg Balance Scale (BBS),
Clinical Outcome Variables Scale (COVS), and Chedoke McMaster Stroke Assessment
(CMSA). Weight bearing (WB), center of pressure (COP) velocity, and
electromyography (EMG) data were collected during quiet standing and during
internal perturbation with a rapid nonparetic arm raise. RESULTS:
Cross-sectionally, there were moderate to strong correlations for EMG area and WB
with CMSA and COVS. Additionally, the BBS was correlated with WB on the paretic
side. Longitudinally, statistically significant improvement was found for
functional measures but not for physiological measures. The mean BBS and COVS
improved by 23 and 21 points, respectively. COP velocity decreased by 60.1% on
the paretic leg but not significantly. CONCLUSIONS: During stroke rehabilitation,
all participants improved functionally. Some patients improved physiologically,
though near discharge, all participants remained very impaired. Future studies
with larger sample sizes are needed to explore the capacity for physiological
recovery in this population.
CI - (c) The Author(s) 2014.

Langue : ANGLAIS