A retrospective observational study of the effect of physiotherapy treatment on outcomes in stroke patients

Abstract

Background: Stroke is a major economic burden as it causes both motor and functional deficits in stroke patients. It requires immediate medical and surgical treatment, along with medical and surgical treatment, early rehabilitation like physiotherapy may reduce most of the human and economic costs associated with burden of the disease and immobility related complications. Aims and Objectives: This study aims to assess the motor outcomes among stroke patients who had received different combinations of physiotherapy treatment approaches using manual muscle test (MMT) score. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study, which analyzed the medical records data (from January 2016 to January 2019) for stroke patients who followed up in physiotherapy Outpatient Department (OPD) after stroke at least for 1 month. Results: Of 50 patients, 66% were male and 34% were female with an average age of 49.61 ± 17.63 years. About 56% suffered from the left-sided hemiplegia, 42% from the right-sided hemiplegia, and 1% from bilateral hemiplegia. The average duration between occurrence of stroke and first visit to OPD was 71.21 ± 48.35 days. Patients with ischemic stroke constituted 58% and hemorrhagic 42%. After regular follow-up for 1 month, patients showed a significant improvement in MMT score. Conclusion: Early intervention in stroke by medical and physical rehabilitation and regular follow-up for physiotherapy help in motor function improvement.