Abstract
Purpose: This case report examines the influence of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) combined with a dynamic neuromuscular stabilization approach on balance in patients with cerebellar atrophy. Methods: The target subject of this case report was a 34-year-old woman who was informed of the purpose of this research and voluntarily agreed to participate in it. The case report conformed to research ethics based on the Helsinki Declaration. The target subject was confirmed to have cerebellar atrophy from an unknown cause in 2009 and was diagnosed with slight ataxia. At that time, she could carry out daily activities without physical therapy. On May 19, 2015, she suffered both a subdural hemorrhage (SDH) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in a traffic accident. She was urgently moved to the emergency room and managed by nonsurgical treatment, and then, the cerebellar atrophy and ataxia gradually deteriorated. To evaluate the patient's balance capacity before and after intervention, the trunk impairment scale (TIS), trunk impairment scale (OLST) during eye-closing/opening, timed up and go test (TUG), and visual analogue scale (VAS) were conducted. The PNF intervention program was executed for 30 min, four times a week, for three weeks. Results: The TIS and OLST during eye-closing/opening were improved by as much as a point, by 8.15 s and 6.21 s, respectively, after applying the PNF program. TUG and VAS decreased by 1.33 s and 3 points, respectively, after intervention. According to the result, the OLST during eye-closing/opening and VAS improved remarkably in comparison with those before intervention. Conclusion: As the final result of the case report, PNF intervention combined with DNSA more effectively improved the static balance capacity, such as the OLST during eye-closing/opening and VAS, compared to the dynamic balance capacity. In addition, the intervention duration and period of the exercise program are recommended to be more than 1 h a day for four weeks considering the learning ability of a patient with cerebellar atrophy.
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