Affiliations: [a] Clinical Laboratory of Experimental Neurorehabilitation, Fondazione Santa Lucia (Scientific Institute for Research and Health Care), Rome, Italy
| [b] Interuniversity Centre of Bioengineering of the Human Neuromusculoskeletal System (BOHNES), Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome “Foro Italico”, Rome, Italy
| [c] Private Inpatients Unit, Fondazione Santa Lucia (Scientific Institute for Research and Health Care), Rome, Italy
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Marco Tramontano PT, Clinical Laboratory of Experimental Neurorehabilitation, Fondazione, Santa Lucia (Scientific Institute for Research and Health Care), Rome, Italy. Tel.: +3906 51501420; Fax: +3906 51501378; E-mail: m.tramontano@hsantalucia.it.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Vestibular rehabilitation (VR) consists in a customized exercise program patient-centred that includes a combination of different exercise components with the aim to promote gaze stability, improve balance and gait, and facilitate somatosensory integration. OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of customized vestibular rehabilitation training on gait stability of patients with subacute stroke. METHODS:Twenty-five inpatients (12 M, age: 64.1±12.1 years) with diagnosis of subacute stroke were enrolled and randomized in two groups. All patients were evaluated before and after 4 weeks of training sessions. An instrumented 10-Meter Walk Test together with traditional clinical scales were used to assess VR effects. To investigate if any fall event occurred after patients’ dismissal, they were followed-up at three and twelve months after dismissal. RESULTS:Higher values of walking speed and stride length were observed in the VR group. Conversely, no significant difference was found in terms of trunk stability. The results of between-group comparison highlight significant differences between the two groups for different clinical scale scores. CONCLUSION:VR could be included into a rehabilitation program for patients with stroke for improving their gait and dynamic balance acting on their vestibular system as facilitator of recovery.
Keywords: Vestibular rehabilitation, stroke, instrumented assessment, dynamic balance and gait
