Effect of Physical Therapy on Balance and Functional Outcome in Stroke Patients in Long-Term Care Facilities

物理治療對長期照護機構中風患者平衡與生活功能之效果分析

林光華(Kwan-Hwa Lin) ； 胡名霞(Ming-Hsia Hu) ； 湯佩芳(Pei-Fang Tang)

《物理治療》 32卷5期 (2007/10) Pp. 275-281

摘要

Objective: To investigate the effect of physical therapy on balance and Barthel Index (BI) score in chronic stroke patients living in long-term care facilities in Taipei, and to investigate the factors influencing the functional outcome. Methods: A quasi-experimental design with a control trial. From eleven long-term care (LTC) facilities in Taipei, forty-one first-stroke patients were chosen as experimental (N=25) and control (N=16) groups. The residents in the experimental group received physical therapy individually once a week for 8 weeks. A subset of the Berg balance scale (9 out of 14 items) was used to measure balance, and BI was used to measure functional outcome. The balance and BI were assessed before and at the end of the studying period. Results: The balance and BI scores were significantly (p＜0.05) increased in first-stroke patients in LTC facilities following physical therapy. A multivariate stepwise regression analysis revealed that physical therapy was associated with improved functional outcome. Conclusions: Physical therapy is effective in improving balance and functional outcome in first-stroke patients in LTC facilities.

關鍵字

物理治療 ； 平衡 ； 生活功能 ； 長期照護

並列摘要

Objective: To investigate the effect of physical therapy on balance and Barthel Index (BI) score in chronic stroke patients living in long-term care facilities in Taipei, and to investigate the factors influencing the functional outcome. Methods: A quasi-experimental design with a control trial. From eleven long-term care (LTC) facilities in Taipei, forty-one first-stroke patients were chosen as experimental (N=25) and control (N=16) groups. The residents in the experimental group received physical therapy individually once a week for 8 weeks. A subset of the Berg balance scale (9 out of 14 items) was used to measure balance, and BI was used to measure functional outcome. The balance and BI were assessed before and at the end of the studying period. Results: The balance and BI scores were significantly (p＜0.05) increased in first-stroke patients in LTC facilities following physical therapy. A multivariate stepwise regression analysis revealed that physical therapy was associated with improved functional outcome. Conclusions: Physical therapy is effective in improving balance and functional outcome in first-stroke patients in LTC facilities.

並列關鍵字

Physical therapy ； Balance ； Function ； Long-term care