Comparison of Effects between Underwater and Body Weight Support Treadmill Training on Walking and Balance in Hemiplegics after Stroke / 中国康复理论与实践

ABSTRACT

Objective To compare the effect of underwater treadmill training (UWTT), body weight support treadmill training (BW-STT) and conventional gait training (CGT) for walking ability and balance function in hemiplegic patients after stroke. Methods 43 patients were divided into CGT group (n=14), BWSTT group (n=13) and UWTT group (n=16). Based on conventional gait training, the UWTT group and BWSTT group respectively accepted UWTT and BWSTT for 4 weeks. They were assessed with Functional Ambulation Category (FAC), maximum walking speed (MWS), 6 Minute Walk Test (6MWT), and dynamic balance function and static balance function with Ac-tive Balancer before and after training. Results All the patients improved in all items after training (P<0.05), while the UWTT group im-proved more in the 6MWT and balance function items than the BWSTT group (P<0.05). Conclusion UWTT is more effective for hemiple-gic patients after stroke in walking ability and balance function than BWSTT.