Abstract
Background:
Individuals with Stroke often present with somatosensory deficits. Improvement in balance has been reported with exercises using surface manipulation; such as on Foam surface in Stroke subjects, and on textured as well as sandy surface in elderly. The textured and shifting nature of sand is expected to enhance somatosensory inputs from the foot and it is also an unstable surface. Hence comparison of the efficacy of balance training on foam v/s sand in individuals with Stroke is proposed.
Aim:
To compare the effects of balance training on foam v/s sand in individuals with stroke.
Design:
Prospective experimental study comparing 2 types of interventions in 53 adults with stroke of duration > 3 months.
Methods:
After random allocation, subjects underwent 6 weeks of balance training using task oriented exercises on either: Foam (26) or Sand (27). Outcome measures used were a) BESTest, b) instrumented mCTSIB done pre-training, after 6 weeks of training & at 9th week.
Results:
Significant change in BESTest mean scores after 6 weeks of training in Foam group (p <0>th & 9th week, not significant (p >0.05) indicating the carryover of training effects in both foam and sand groups. On comparison between both groups, no significant difference in mean change of BESTest and m-CTSIB scores obtained at 6th & 9th week (p >0.05), indicating that training on sand was as effective as training on foam.
Conclusion:
Balance training using task-oriented exercises on sand is as effective as on foam in individuals with Stroke. The carryover effects persisted in both groups similarly for next 3 weeks.
Keywords:
Stroke, Balance training, Foam, sand.