Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing University, the Second Hospital of Jiaxing City, Jiaxing City, ZJ, China.
Department of Physical Therapy, Beijing Bo'ai Hospital, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Beijing, China.
Physiother Theory Pract. 2023 Aug 3;39(8):1626-1635. doi: 10.1080/09593985.2022.2049939. Epub 2022 Mar 14.
This study aims to explore the effects of aquatic strength training on the postural balance and walking function of stroke patients.
A total of 56 chronic stroke patients more than 6 months post-stroke with walking and balance impairments were included in this study. After baseline evaluations, patients were randomly assigned to either the experiment group (n = 29) or control group (n = 27). Patients in the control group underwent conventional hydrotherapy, whereas patients in the experiment group received conventional hydrotherapy combined with aquatic lower extremity strength training. After six weeks of rehabilitation, all patients were evaluated by a blinded assessor, and the functional assessments including: Berg Balance Scale (BBS); Timed Up and Go Test (TUG and mTUG); 2 Minute Walk Test (2MWMT); and Gait analysis.
There were no significant differences (P > .05) between the two groups in all evaluation indexes before rehabilitation. Six weeks after treatments, the results from both groups showed significant improvements compared with those in the baseline evaluations (P < .05). Notably, compared with the control group, BBS, TUG and mTUG, 2MWMT, and Gait analysis including stride length in the non-hemiplegic side, stride length, as well as walking speed and stride frequency in the hemiplegic side in experiment group were markedly improved (P < .05).
Aquatic strength training can improve postural balance and lower extremity motor functions in chronic stroke patients.
本研究旨在探讨水中力量训练对脑卒中患者姿势平衡和步行功能的影响。
本研究共纳入 56 例脑卒中后 6 个月以上且存在步行和平衡障碍的慢性脑卒中患者。在基线评估后，患者被随机分为实验组（n=29）和对照组（n=27）。对照组患者接受常规水疗，而实验组患者则接受常规水疗联合下肢水中力量训练。经过 6 周的康复治疗后，所有患者均由盲法评估者进行评估，功能评估包括：Berg 平衡量表（BBS）；计时起立-行走测试（TUG 和 mTUG）；2 分钟步行测试（2MWMT）；步态分析。
两组患者在康复治疗前的所有评估指标均无显著差异（P>.05）。治疗 6 周后，两组患者的结果均较基线评估时显著改善（P<.05）。值得注意的是，与对照组相比，实验组的 BBS、TUG 和 mTUG、2MWMT 以及步态分析中的非偏瘫侧步长、偏瘫侧步长、步行速度和步频均有明显改善（P<.05）。
水中力量训练可改善慢性脑卒中患者的姿势平衡和下肢运动功能。
