Effect of task specific training with proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation on stroke survivors

Introduction and Aim: Stroke is a neurological injury, which occurs due to interruption of blood supply to the brain, it is the 3rd most common cause of death in India. Stroke results in multiple disabilities in human and the most common disabilities are in the hand and leg. Rehabilitation and exercises are playing a major role in stroke recovery. Though there are various exercises pertaining to the management of stroke, one of the common exercises usually prescribed is task specific training, PNF is also one of the common techniques, which is used in stroke management. This study aims to identify the effect of task specific training and PNF on various functions in stroke survivors. Materials and Methods: True experimental study with 50 MCA stroke survivors is included in the study after due consideration of the selection criteria, they all randomly divided into two groups. First group of participants were named as TST group (Task specific training) who received therapy for 10 weeks, second group of participants named as PNG group (Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation), who received therapy for 10 weeks. Written consent was obtained from each of the participants. Outcomes selected in the study were Modified Ashworth scale, Action reach arm scale, Berg balance scale, and Dynamic gait index. All the components were assessed before and after the study. All the analyses were done using SPSS 20.0. Results: The results of this study show that modified Ashworth scale was 6.16, action reach arm test was 10.2, Berg balance scale was 18.9 and dynamic gait index was 10.3 at the level of p value 0.0001. Conclusion: This study concluded that task specific training group shows better improvement than the PNF group in chronic stroke survivors. Keywords: Task specific training; proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation training; modified Ashworth scale; Berg balance scale; action reach arm test; dynamic gait index and stroke.