Affiliations: Department of Rehabilitation Therapy, The Graduate
School, Yonsei University, Wonju-si, Kangwon-do, Republic of Korea,
220-710 | Department of Physical Therapy, Yonsei University
College of Health Science, Wonju-si, Kangwon-do, Republic of Korea,
220-710 | Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yonsei
University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju-si, Kangwon-do, Republic of
Korea
Abstract: Purposes: This study tested the hypothesis that our method of
knee-joint-tracking training for stroke patients induces significant motor
learning effects, and the findings were compared with those of previous
studies. Methods: Six stroke patients and six age-matched healthy
controls were recruited. The tracking task involved following
computer-generated sine waves of changing frequency (0.2, 0.3, or 0.4 Hz) for
each repeating cycle with a plot of the knee-joint angle on a computer monitor
as closely as possible. The closed-kinetic chain set involved standing with
both hands placed on a support table, with one foot placed on a wooden box and
the other foot placed on a digital body-weight scale. The sessions in this
study were performed in the following sequence: practice, pretest evaluation, 4
weeks of training, and posttraining evaluation. The tracking performance was
evaluated with the accuracy index (AI) score. Results: Tracking training produced a significant improvement
not only in the motor-function scores but also in the AI score of the
stroke-patient group. The improvement in their AI did not differ significantly
from that of the control group. Conclusions: Our tracking protocol exerted a significant
training effect in stroke patients, and the AI improvement was greater than
that induced by the most recent protocol. This training will enhance motor
skill acquisition and possibly contribute to cortical reorganization.
Keywords: Knee, joint tracking, biofeedback, stroke, hemiplegia, recovery, accuracy index
