“Comparative Effects Of Motor Relearning Program And Action Observation Therapy On Balance And Gait In Chronic Stroke Patients.’’

Abstract

Background: Cerebrovascular accident, commonly known as a stroke, is characterized by sudden clinical indicators of localized (or generalized) disruption to brain function, as well as symptoms that continue longer than 24 hours or result in death, with an obvious cause, usually of vascular origin. Cerebral vascular disease ranks third in terms of disability and is the second most common reason for death globally. 1 in 19 people die in this ratio. Stroke is a significant long-term cause of harm and is more disabling than lethal.

Objective: To compare the effects[1] of Motor Relearning program and Action Observation therapy on balance and gait in chronic stroke patients.

Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted on 34 chronic stroke patients of age between 50 to 70 years. Clinical trial registry number was IRCT2023101505732N1. Sample was collected from DHQ hospital Sahiwal and Ahmad Heath Complex Arifwala through non probability convenience sampling technique and then patients were randomly allocated to 2 groups by using lottery method. Group A received intervention Motor Relearning Program with conventional treatment and Group B received Action Observation Therapy with conventional treatment. Both groups received treatment sessions of 30 minutes along with 20 to 25 minutes of conventional physical therapy for three days a week, over a period of eight weeks. For the pre- and post-evaluation of all participants Berg balance scale, 10-m walk test and timed up and go test was used. Data was analyzed by using SPSS (Statistical package for Social Sciences) 25 version.

Results: Data was examined for normality using Shapiro-Wilk, and a significance value greater than 0.05 suggested that the data was normally distributed. Differences between the two groups were assessed using an independent sample t-test to establish baseline comparability. Changes within the same group were assessed using a paired sample t-test to evaluate the difference between pre-intervention and post-intervention data. Significant changes were observed in both groups when comparing pre and post-intervention outcomes

Conclusion: This study concluded that Motor Relearning Program was more effective than action observation therapy in improving balance and gait in chronic stroke patients.