Earticle

Purpose: This study examined changes in gait speed and stride length after an intervention involving simultaneous scapular and pelvic patterns of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation in a hemiplegic patient. Methods: A 58-year-old woman with left hemiplegia who had complained of slowness of gait speed and weakness of leg strength took part in an intervention involving scapular postdepression patterns on the affected side and pelvic postdepression patterns on the nonaffected side. The intervention was performed with the patient lying on her left side, in a half kneeling position, and in a standing posture. Rhythmic initiation was used for teaching the movements to the patient and improvement of kinesthesia, and a combination of isotonic was employed for increasing strength and irradiation of the scapula and pelvic movement. The intervention took place for 30 min. It was implemented twice a day, 5 days a week, for 3 weeks. After three repetitions, the average time taken to complete the 10-m walk test (10 MWT), in addition to stride length, was measured to determine gait speed. Results: After the 3-week program, the patient’s performance in the 10 MWT improved from 21.7sec to 17.1sec, and her stride length improved from 31.4cm to 38.7cm. Conclusion: The results showed that trunk movement exercise, especially coordinative movements of the scapula and pelvis can improve gait speed and stride length by increasing trunk stability and mobility. A combination of pelvic and scapular patterns can facilitate trunk rotation, thereby improving gait speed and stride length.

Purpose: This study used a comparative analysis to propose the effectiveness of using scapular and pelvic patterns of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation simultaneously (USPS) on the components of gait in patients with stroke. Methods: Subjects who signed a written consent form to participate in the experiment and attended voluntarily were divided randomly into two groups: the USPS group (12) and the control group (9). The USPS group received pattern training for 30 minutes a day, 3 days per week for 6 weeks. The control group received general physical exercise for the same duration. Gait ability was tested and analyzed before and after the 6 weeks of training with the GAITRite system. Results: The components of gait increased significantly in the USPS group after training (p < 0.05) and did not increase significantly in the control group. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, USPS training improves the components of gait more than general physical exercise. The USPS training method is effective for improving motor functions in patients with stroke, especially for gait rehabilitation.