Pregait balance rehabilitation in acute stroke patients.

Rehabilitation interventions designed to enhance balance control in individuals with acute stroke are quite limited. The goal was to develop and assess a technique of early pregait balance training involving the use of a combination of force platform visual feedback and the unweighting system in individuals with recent stroke. A total of 28 individuals with acute stroke were randomly divided into the experimental and control groups: individuals included in the experimental group received 1 week of treatment on the basis of retraining balance utilizing visual biofeedback (Balance Master) while provided with a body weight support harness system, whereas the individuals in the control group received conventional treatment. Both the groups undertook identical tests (Fugl-Meyer Balance test, Functional Independence Measure test for gait, and Fugl-Meyer lower extremity assessment) before the start of treatment and after its completion. Individuals in the experimental group showed larger gains as seen in the increased scores of the Fugl-Meyer Balance test and the Functional Independence Measure test for gait as compared with the control group. The outcome of the study provides a basis for future investigations of the applicability of the intervention in early balance rehabilitation of individuals with neurological disorders.