Trunk exercise using the Swiss ball improves the functional balance and walking of stroke patients in the early stages of recovery

Abstract

Objective To examine the effects of trunk exercises performed using a Swiss ball on functional balance and walking in the early stage of recovering from a stroke. Methods Sixty hemiplegic stroke patients were randomly assigned to a control group or an experimental group, each of 30. Both groups were treated with routine physical training. Those in the control group did conventional trunk exercises, while the patients in the experimental group were given trunk exercises performed using a Swiss ball. The trunk control test (TCT) and the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) were used to assess the patients' trunk and balance function. Gait and balance function training and assessment apparatus (model AL-080) was used to measure and compare the scope of movement of the patient's center of pressure in static sitting over 30 seconds (LOM), the limits of stability (LOS), velocities and a gait asymmetry index (GAI). Results Significant improvements in TCT, BBS, LOM and LOS were observed in both groups after the training, but all of the measures improved significantly more in the experimental group than in the control group. Conclusions Swiss ball trunk exercise can obviously improve the trunk control, functional balance and walking of stroke patients in the early stages of recovery. Key words: Stroke; Hemiplegia; Swiss ball; Trunk control; Balance; Walking