BACKGROUND: TheraSling therapy (TST) is a kind of rehabilitation therapy for patients with stroke in order to improving neural function. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of TST combined with neuromuscular facilitation technique on hemiplegic gait in patients with stroke.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty-six patients with abnormal gait after stroke were recruited for this study and assigned randomly to either the control group (n=28) or the TST experiment group (n=28). Patients in the 2 groups all received neuromuscular facilitation technique treatment. In addition, patients in the TST experiment group were received TST. Treatments were 45 minutes a day for 6 weeks.

RESULTS: The functional ambulation category (FAC) score, improved Barthel index, Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA), Berg balance scale (BBS), and 10 meters walking time and step length were significantly improve in both the TST experiment group and the control group after 6 weeks of treatment with a statistical difference (P<0.05). And the aforementioned indices in the TST experiment group after treatment were significantly higher than those of control group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Lower extremity motor function and quality of life were significantly improved by TST combined with neuromuscular facilitation technique. However, the study had a small sample size, thus, further multicenter well-designed prospective randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm our findings.

Keywords: Aftercare, Recovery Room, Stroke, Electric Stimulation Therapy, Gait, Gait Disorders, Neurologic, Lower Extremity, postural balance, Quality of Life, Recovery of Function, stroke rehabilitation, Walking