EFFECTS OF NEUROFACILITATION TREATMENT ON ABILITY TO WALK IN INDIVIDUALS WITH AFTER STROKE HEMIPARESIS

Sa？etak One of the main causes of the stroke patients immobility is gait impairement. A gait disturbance presents clinically as balance problems, slower walking speed, reducing the step length and the gait cycle, and the asymmetrical gait pattern. They all reduce the patient’s ability to perform everyday activities and result in the patient’s dissatisfaction with the quality of their life. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of the neurofacilitaton programme on balance and gait of 20 subjects diagnosed with stroke by magnetic resonance imaging andsuffering from hemiparesis, classified as level 3 according to the Medical Research Council paresis classification, at least 3 months after the stroke. The effects of the treatment programmes were compared by the Berg Balance Scale, the Timed Up and Go Test and goniometric measurements of active dorsiflexion of the foot, flexion and extension of the knee (Active Range of Motion - AROM). The study showed a statistically significant effect of the neurofacilitation treatment on all the variables (83.4% variables had statistically significant results, 15 out of 18), except on three variables (TUGT, BERG3 and BERG11) (p>0.05) relating to complex activities, such as getting up, walking, rotation, and sitting down. Results obtained in this study showed a significant contribution of the neurofacilitation programme to almost all the variables of the static and dynamic balance as the basis of the gait function