The impact of movement rehabilitation on functional recovery to everyday activities in stroke patients – preliminary report

Abstract Background: The main objective of this study was to demonstrate the beneficial effects of rehabilitation on self-sufficiency and recovery to everyday activities in patients after stroke. Material/Methods: The study group comprised 20 patients (11 women and 9 men), who were randomly allocated into two groups of 10 participants each. The first was the control group whose members underwent a 3-week rehabilitation program used in the Neurological Department of the District Hospital in Zawiercie. The study group received the same rehabilitative program but enriched with selected elements of the Bobath concept. On the first and last days of the study each of the patients was assessed with respect to self-sufficiency in performing daily activities using Functional Measure ”Repty” (FMR - simplified version of Functional Independence Measure), upper extremity proximal motor control (the Frenchay Arm Test - FAT) and lower extremity strength (the Timed Up and Go Test - TUG). Results: The results revealed that patients with enriched rehabilitative program exhibited improvement in a greater numer of physical functions as assessed by the FMR (improvement by 26.4%) compared to the control participants (14.28%). The Frenchay Arm Test and the Timed Up and Go Test showed improvement in upper extremity control and locomotion in the study and control participants. The mean reduction in TUG time was 2.5 s and 3.4 s in the control and study participants, respectively; the results are statistically significant. A FAT task, ie., lifting a cylinder and replacing it improved by a mean of 2 and 0.5 inches; there were also gains in the performance of other tasks such as drinking water from a glass and combing hair. Conclusions: The final results revealed an improvement of physical function in all patients. However, rehabilitation program enrichment with selected elements of the Bobath concept helped the patients achieve better functional recovery; a 3-week rehabilitation program more effectively contributed to improving self-sufficiency, locomotion and arm function.