16110
document
Reliance on visual information after stroke . Part II : Effectiveness of a balance rehabilitation program with visual cue deprivation after stroke : a randomized controlled trial . OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that balance rehabilitation with visual cue deprivation improves balance more effectively than rehabilitation with free vision . DESIGN Single-blind , randomized controlled trial . SETTING Public rehabilitation center in France . PARTICIPANTS Twenty patients with hemiplegia after a single-hemisphere stroke that occurred at least 12 months before the study . INTERVENTION Patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 balance rehabilitation programs-with and without visual cue deprivation . In all other respects , the programs were identical . Each lasted for 1 hour and was implemented 5 days a week for 4 weeks . All patients completed the program . Mean outcome measures Balance under 6 sensory conditions was assessed by computerized dynamic posturography ( EquiTest ) , gait velocity , timed stair climbing , and self-assessment of ease of gait before and after program completion . RESULTS After completing the program , balance , gait velocity , and self-assessment of gait improved significantly in all patients . The improvements in gait velocity ( P= .03 ) and timed stair climbing ( P= .01 ) correlated significantly with improved balance . Balance improved more in the vision-deprived group than in the free-vision group . CONCLUSIONS Balance improved more after rehabilitation with visual deprivation than with free vision . Visual overuse may be a compensatory strategy for coping with initial imbalance exacerbated by traditional rehabilitation .
16111
Intervention_Physical
rehabilitation program
16112
Intervention_Physical
visual cue deprivation
16113
Intervention_Physical
rehabilitation with visual cue deprivation
16114
Intervention_Educational
rehabilitation with free vision
16115
Intervention_Control
.
16116
Intervention_Educational
Patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 2
16117
Intervention_Physical
balance rehabilitation programs-with
16118
Intervention_Educational
and
16119
Intervention_Control
without visual cue deprivation
16120
Intervention_Educational
In all other respects , the programs were identical
16121
Intervention_Physical
visual deprivation
16122
Intervention_Control
free vision
16123
Outcome_Mental
visual information
16124
Outcome_Mental
balance
16125
Outcome_Mental
Balance
16126
Outcome_Physical
dynamic posturography ( EquiTest ) , gait velocity , timed stair climbing , and self-assessment of ease of gait before and after program completion
16127
Outcome_Mental
balance
16128
Outcome_Mental
gait velocity
16129
Outcome_Mental
self-assessment of gait
16130
Outcome_Mental
gait velocity
16131
Outcome_Mental
timed stair climbing
16132
Outcome_Mental
Balance
16133
Outcome_Mental
Balance
16134
Participant_Condition
after stroke :
16135
Participant_Condition
Public rehabilitation center in France .