Article

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of whole-body tilt exercise for treating
hemispatial neglect and to identify the effects of incorporating mental practice
into the exercise.
METHODS: We used a single-subject experimental design
alternating with multiple baselines. Three stroke patients with hemispatial
neglect participated in this study. The severity of hemispatial neglect and
balance function were measured during baseline and intervention sessions. The
whole-body tilt exercise was performed by using a device that allows the body to
tilt 20 degrees from the neutral upright position. Mental practice consisted of 5
min of relaxation, main whole-body tilt imagination, and normalization phases.
RESULTS: When the whole-body tilt exercise alone was performed, the average
severity score of hemispatial neglect in subjects 1, 2, and 3 decreased by 7.54,
10.02, and 8.24, respectively; their respective average balance function score
increased by 35.95%, 28.13%, and 15.33% under the open-eye condition and 34.66%,
20.33%, and 13.77% under the closed-eye condition. For subjects 1, 2, and 3, the
respective average hemispatial neglect score decreased by 9.07, 11.35, and 10.13
after the whole-body tilt exercise with mental practice; their average balance
function scores increased by 40.15%, 33.38%, and 24.22% under the open-eye
condition and by 38.93%, 27.08%, and 11.88% under the closed-eye condition,
respectively. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that a whole-body tilt exercise
alone may be beneficial in enhancing hemispatial neglect symptoms but the
addition of mental practice produces a greater positive effect.

Langue : ANGLAIS