The effect of vestibular and somatosensory rehabilitation on balance in addition to early rehabilitation in patients with acute stroke

ABSTRACT The effect of vestibular and somatosensory rehabilitation on balance in addition to early rehabilitation in patients with acute stroke Objective: To determine the effect of vestibular and somatosensory rehabilitation on balance in addition to early rehabilitation in patients with acute stroke. Methods: Fifty two in patients with acute stroke (30 rehabilitation group and 22 control groups) were included in the study between 45-80 years of age who underwent ischemic or hemorrage stroke at Turgut Özal Medical Center. The outcomes were evaluated postural balance with Postural Assessment Stroke Scale (PASS), balance of the upper body used with Functional Reach Test (FRT), static and dynamic balance used with Korebalance, functional and balance of ambulation used with Functional Ambulation Classification (FAC) were assessed after demographic information of all individuals was obtained after acute stroke and at the time of discharge from Turgut Özal Medical Center. The rehabilitation group had vestibular and somatosensory rehabilitation program in addition to coventional therapy and walk 5 minutes 3 times a day under the supervision of a physiotherapist until the discharge period. Experimental group repeated exercises 3 times a day. For the control group taken only early rehabilitation. When patients discharged from the hospital, all the evaluations of individuals were done another time. Results: After the rehabilitation, the important improvement detected in balance status of patients with acute stroke. A total of 52 individuals, 30 female and 22 male, with a mean age of 67.32 ± 9.46 years, participated in the research. When the pre-treatment and post-treatment parameters were compared between the groups, it was determined that the parameters of static and dynamic balance, balance of ambulation, performance, functional reach were improved in both groups, but this improving was statistically more in the rehabilitation group. İn the other words, At discharge time; the statistically significant differences were observed in FAS, FRT, static and dynamic Korebalance scores, PASS scores. Conclusion: Early rehabilitation after acute stroke was found to be effective in increasing the static and dynamic balance of individuals, improving ambulation, improving postural stability, performance, improving functional reach. We think that this study will provide important contributions as this was the first such study on the understanding and prevalence of early rehabilitation which includes vestibular and somatosensory rehabilitation in addition to early rehabilitation after acute stroke. Key words: Acute, stroke, rehabilitation, balance, somatosensorial, vestibular