Haleem Muhammad Hamad, Baig Mirza Obaid, Abualait Turki, Yoo Woo-Kyoung, Obaid Sumaiyah, Bashir Shahid
Faculty of Rehabilitation & Allied Health Sciences, Riphah International University, Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan.
National Excellence Institute, Islamabad, Pakistan.
PeerJ. 2025 Feb 19;13:e18925. doi: 10.7717/peerj.18925. eCollection 2025.
A stroke is characterized by neurological deficits that result in compromised muscle strength and balance, impacting the overall wellbeing of the patient, including decreased quality of life, socialization and participation in daily activities. The aim of the study is to determine the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with a motor relearning program on strength and balance in sub-acute stroke patients.
The randomized controlled trial involved 44 subacute stroke patients, randomly assigned to either the experimental group ( = 22) or control group ( = 22). The intervention included anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for the experimental group and sham stimulation with a motor relearning program for the control groups. Assessments were conducted using manual muscle testing for muscle strength and the Berg Balance Scale for balance at baseline, the fourth week, and the eighth week.
There were no statistically significant effects in the experimental group for either strength or balance (-value > 0.05) but there were time effects for both variables especially during the intervention period in both the experimental and control groups.
There does not appear to be any short term or long-term additional effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation on strength and balance in subacute stroke patients.
中风的特征是神经功能缺损，导致肌肉力量和平衡受损，影响患者的整体健康，包括生活质量下降、社交能力以及参与日常活动的能力。本研究的目的是确定经颅直流电刺激联合运动再学习方案对亚急性中风患者力量和平衡的影响。
这项随机对照试验纳入了44例亚急性中风患者，随机分为实验组（n = 22）和对照组（n = 22）。干预措施包括对实验组进行阳极经颅直流电刺激（tDCS），对对照组进行假刺激并结合运动再学习方案。在基线、第四周和第八周，使用徒手肌力测试评估肌肉力量，使用伯格平衡量表评估平衡能力。
实验组在力量或平衡方面均无统计学显著效果（p值>0.05），但两个变量均有时间效应，尤其是在实验组和对照组的干预期内。
阳极经颅直流电刺激对亚急性中风患者的力量和平衡似乎没有任何短期或长期的额外影响。
