ABSTRACT
Impairment in the function of the brain caused by deficiency in the brain circulation is called stroke. Stroke is the most important factor of disability in adults. One of the most prevalent consequences of stroke is disability of walking or so-called [gait disorder] so that more than 50 percent of the patients who are in the acute phase of the disease are not capable of walking, and need to a rehabilitation period to reach for walking. In order to compare the effect of exercise therapy on the function of walking and balance and Improvement of depression in left and right hemiplegics patients, a Non-randomized clinical study was done. This study consisted of 13 right- hemiplegics patients with an average age of [60.46 +/- 1.47] and 13 left hemiplegics patients with an average age of [61.92 +/- 2.01] who were matched in age, height and weight. To measure the function of walking the Gait Dynamic Index, function of balance the Berg Balance Scale and Depression Beck Depression Questionnaire were used. The data were analyzed by SPSS software. To compare the effect of exercise therapy on the improvement of walking and balance before and after the treatment in each group t-paired -test and for more comparison of the two groups an independent T-test was used. With analyzing the received data the following results were derived: From the viewpoint of walking, a significant difference in the right hemiplegics group [p<0.001] and the left hemiplegics one [P=0.0] before and after the treatment is derived. From the viewpoint of balance, a significant difference in the right hemiplegics group [p<0.001] and the left hemiplegics group [P=0.0] before and after the treatment was noticed. About the improvement of depression, a significant difference in the right hemiplegics group [p<0.001] and the left one [p<0.00l] before and after the treatment was noticed. There was no significant difference between two groups before [p=0.85] and after [0.36] the treatment from the point of view of walking. There was no significant difference between two groups before [p=0.056] and after [p=0.067] the treatment in balance. There was no significant difference between two groups before [p=0.067] and after [p=0.054] treatment from the viewpoint of depression. This study showed that performing the exercise therapy protocol improves the function of walking, balance and depression in herniplegic patients; never the less, no differences were observed between the two right and left hemiplegics groups