Effects of Home-based Program in Improving Sitting Balance and Upper Limb Functions in Patients With Stroke

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Stroke

Treatments: Behavioral: electrical stimulation with exercises; Behavioral: placebo stimulation with exercises

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01200030

DHSC_NG_001

DHSC_NG

Details and patient eligibility

About

The investigators hypothesize that application of electrical stimulation would augment the effects of exercises in patients with stroke. Combined electrical stimulation with exercises for 6 weeks would lead to earlier and greater improvement in motor functions when compared with placebo-stimulation with exercises.

Full description

Previous studies have shown that repeated sensory inputs from transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TES) could enhance brain plasticity and conical motor output. Home-based rehabilitation is shown to be effective in motor recovery and improvement of functional ability in stroke rehabilitation.

The aim of this study was to develop a home-based rehabilitation program to investigate whether combined electrically induced sensory inputs through TES with task-related trunk training (TRTT) in a home-based program would induce earlier and/or greater improvement in, seated reaching distance and trunk control when compared with placebo TES and TRTT, or control with no active treatment in subjects with chronic stroke.

Enrollment: 37 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 45 to 80 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Diagnosis with first stroke for more than 6 months
2. Discharge from all rehabilitation services
3. Ability to understand and follow commands
4. A carer able for helping the home program
5. No contraindication to assessment protocol and training

Exclusion criteria

1. Cognitive disorder with Abbreviated Mental Test less than 7
2. Unilateral neglect with Star cancellation Test less than 47
3. Sensory deficit
4. Unable to give informed consent
5. Unable to speak either Cantonese or English or Mandarin
6. Commodity that preclude them from undergoing training and assessment
7. Neurological disease other than stroke

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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37 participants in 3 patient groups, including a placebo group

electrical stimulation with exercises

Experimental group

Description:

The TENS + TRTT group received TENS simultaneously with the TRTT at home under the instruction of a physical therapist.

Treatment:

Behavioral: electrical stimulation with exercises

placebo stimulation with exercises

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

The TENS + TRTT group received placebo-simultaneously with the TRTT at home under the instruction of a physical therapist.

Treatment:

Behavioral: placebo stimulation with exercises

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

Subjects in this group did not receive any active training. Home safety advice and health education including diet control and blood pressure monitoring were given to the subjects during the home-visit and telephone follow-up.