Abstract:
Background: A primary objective in stroke rehabilitation is to restore functional balance, in order to
reduce falls.
Objectives: To identify the efficacy and safety of wobble board exercises when combined with
conventional physiotherapy, in improving balance in hemiplegic patients following ischemic
strokes.
Methods: A block-randomized, controlled, observer blinded, superiority trial was conducted on
ambulatory hemiplegic patients following ischemic strokes of middle cerebral artery territory.
Subjects in the control group received a conventional physiotherapy regime. Subjects in the
intervention group received training on a wobble board combined with conventional physiotherapy.
Main Outcome measures were the improvement of Four-Square Step Test (FSST) and the Berg
Balance Scale (BBS), both of which assess functional balance at the end of 6 weeks.
Results: Thirty patients were randomly assigned for intervention (n = 15) and control (n = 15)
groups. One patient dropped out from the study, leaving 29 eligible for the analysis. Intervention
and control groups were comparable in sociodemographic characteristics and pre-test scores of
balance. A repeated-measures MANOVA showed a significant difference in improvement of balance
between the two study groups after 6 weeks [F(1,28) = 32.6,p = .000; Wilk’s lambda = .46]. The
improvement of mean score of balance in interventional group was greater than in the control
group [BBS:9.5 (intervention group),5.5 (control group); FSST:3.9 (intervention group),1.7 (control
group)]. There were no injuries in both groups.
Conclusions: Wobble board exercises, when combined with the conventional physiotherapy, are
safe and effective in restoring functional balance in patients with hemiplegia following ischemic
strokes.
