earticle

영어

This study aimed to compare the effect of the on the treadmill walking training combined with obstacles-crossing (TWT-OC) and overground walking training (OWT) on the balance ability of patients with chronic stroke. 11 subjects volunteered to participate in this study; they were randomly assigned to either the TWT-OC group (5 subjects) or OWT group (6 subjects). Subjects from the TWT-OC group underwent a treadmill walking training comined with obstacles-crossing for 30 minutes daily, three days a week for four weeks, whereas subjects from the OWT group received overground walking training.
The Berg balance scale (BBS), timed up and go test (TUG), and activities-specific balance confidence-Korean version (ABC-K) were measured before and after the 4-week training. The OCTWT group showed significantly better functional mobility of balance measured by BBS and ABC-K scores (p<.05) when compared with those of the OWT group. Further, within-group comparison showed significant improvement in all variables (p<.05). These findings suggest that the OCTWT and OWT may be helpful for improving the balance ability of patients with chronic stroke, and the TWT-OC has probably more favorable outcomes for chronic strokes, however, further trials with wider range of subjects are warranted for generalization and clinical relevance.