Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Mar;27(3):845-9.
doi: 10.1589/jpts.27.845. Epub 2015 Mar 31.

Effects of virtual reality-based ankle exercise on the dynamic balance, muscle tone, and gait of stroke patients

Changho Yom  1 , Hwi-Young Cho  2 , ByoungHee Lee  1
Affiliations

Effects of virtual reality-based ankle exercise on the dynamic balance, muscle tone, and gait of stroke patients

Changho Yom et al. J Phys Ther Sci. 2015 Mar.

Abstract

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effects of virtual reality-based ankle exercise on the dynamic balance, muscle tone, and gait ability of stroke subjects. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty persons who were in the chronic stroke subjects of this study and they were included and assigned to two groups: experimental (VRAE; Virtual Reality-based Ankle Exercise group) (n=10) and control groups (n=10). The VRAE group performed virtual environment system ankle exercise, and the control group watched a video. Both groups performed their respective interventions for 30 minutes per day, 5 times per week over a 6-week period. To confirm the effects of the intervention, dynamic balance, muscle tone, and spatiotemporal gait were evaluated. [Results] The results showed that the dynamic balance and muscle tone was significantly more improved after the intervention compared to before in the VRAE group (dynamic balance: 5.50±2.57; muscle tone: 0.90±0.39), and the improvements were more significant than those in the control (dynamic balance: 1.22±2.05; muscle tone: 0.10±0.21). Spatiotemporal gait measures were significantly more increased in the paretic limb after the intervention compared to before in the VRAE group and the improvements were more significant than those in the control group. [Conclusion] This study demonstrated that virtual reality-based ankle exercise effectively improves the dynamic balance, muscle tone, and gait ability of stroke patients.

Keywords: Gait; Stroke; Virtual reality-based ankle exercise.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Park YH, Kim YM, Lee BH: An ankle proprioceptive control program improves balance, gait ability of chronic stroke patients. J Phys Ther Sci, 2013, 25: 1321–1324. - PMC - PubMed
    1. de Haart M, Geurts AC, Huidekoper SC, et al. : Recovery of standing balance in postacute stroke patients: a rehabilitation cohort study. Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 2004, 85: 886–895. - PubMed
    1. Laufer Y, Sivan D, Schwarzmann R, et al. : Standing balance and functional recovery of patients with right and left hemiparesis in the early stages of rehabilitation. Neurorehabil Neural Repair, 2003, 17: 207–213. - PubMed
    1. Granat MH, Maxwell DJ, Ferguson AC, et al. : Peroneal stimulator; evaluation for the correction of spastic drop foot in hemiplegia. Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 1996, 77: 19–24. - PubMed
    1. Belgen B, Beninato M, Sullivan PE, et al. : The association of balance capacity and falls self-efficacy with history of falling in community-dwelling people with chronic stroke. Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 2006, 87: 554–561. - PubMed