• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.11 no.11
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• pp.537-544
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• 2013

This study was to determine the effect of 12-week balance training with visual feedback on balance and walking functions in patients with post-stroke hemiparesis. Twenty individuals with chronic stroke volunteered to participate in this study. They were randomly allocated to either experimental group (EG) or control group (CG), with 10 subjects in each group. Subjects from the group 1 underwent 15-min balance training with visual feedback and 15-min routine-scheduled physical therapy, and subjects from the group 2 performed 30-min routine-scheduled physical therapy only, which comprised mat exercise, strengthening, postural correction, and functional practice. Assessment tools were made with the Functional Reach Test (FRT), Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT), and 6 Min Walk Test (6MWT). In within-group comparison, the EG showed significant differences in all parameters (p<0.05), while significant differences were not found for the CG (p>0.05). In between-group comparison, the change values of the FRT and 6MWT appeared to be significantly greater for the EG than those of the CG (p<0.05). These findings suggest that balance training with visual feedback may be favorably used to improve balance and walking functions in patients with chronic post-stroke hemiparesis. Further studies with larger sample and long-term follow-up period need to generalize the results of this study.