Article

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of an elastic element-based suit, called
'Regent Suit', in improving the recovery of motor and daily living activities in
patients experiencing a subacute stroke. Design: Randomized controlled trial.
Setting: Neurorehabilitation unit. Subjects: Sixty patients with subacute stroke
who were capable of walking without direct assistance were randomized to an
experimental and control group. Interventions: The experimental group attended 20
sessions of neuromotor exercises (e.g. sit-to-stand, balance, gait training)
wearing the 'Regent Suit'; the control group performed the same exercises without
the 'Regent Suit'. Outcome measures: 6-minute walking test, Berg Balance Scale,
the Functional Independence Measure, and the Barthel Index. The participants were
evaluated before and after training, and after a further six months. Results:
There were no significant between-group differences at baseline. A repeated
measure linear mixed model revealed a significant effect of time (p < 0.001),
group (p = 0.019), and time-by-group interaction (p < 0.001) in the gait speed in
favour of the experimental group. The Berg Balance Scale indicated a significant
effect of time (p < 0.001) and time-by-group interaction (p < 0.001). The
experimental group also showed greater improvement in Functional Independence
Measure and Barthel Index. Discussion: The study findings showed that an
intervention using the 'Regent Suit' is more effective than usual care in
improving locomotion and daily living activities in patients with subacute
stroke. Further studies might investigate the efficacy of this type of training
in chronic stroke patients and the possibility of combining the suit with body
weight-supported treadmill training.

Langue : ANGLAIS