A pilot study exploring head and shoulder movement in visual field deficits following stroke

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the effects of a systematic treatment programme on head and shoulder movement for individuals with visual field deficits following stroke, providing evidence in a clinical area that is reportedly poorly understood and has received little attention ( Thumser et al, 2010 ). Design: The study used a single case method based on an ABC design—incorporating a pre-treatment baseline phase (A), treatment phase of 4 weeks (B), and post-treatment baseline phase (C) at week 5 and week 17. The subjects received 30 minute sessions twice weekly for 4 weeks. Results: An initial autocorrelation co-efficient calculation with a non-significant result is necessary to enable further analysis of the data—which was achieved with the current study data. Subsequent visual analysis indicated a reduction in the angle between the head and shoulder for both subjects when turning to the left but only for Subject 1 when turning to the right; celeration lines were applied to the data to indicate the significance of the results. The celeration lines were statistically significant for Subject 1 turning to the left and for Subject 2 turning to the right in addition two standard deviation band was statistically significant for Subject 2 turning to the right. Conclusions: The data from this study provide preliminary support for a theory of head and shoulder movement change following visual field deficit as a result of stroke. The change of movement measured following the introduction of the systematic treatment programme suggests that use of the systematic treatment programme may influence the head and shoulder movement of individuals with visual field deficits as measured during this study.