A study to determine which motor deficit has the strongest association with an improvement in functioning in activities of daily living in stroke patients

• Main Author: Muller, Caitlin
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: Occupational Therapy; Stroke; Rehabilitation
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10539/18491

A RESEARCH REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES, SCHOOL OF THERAPEUTIC SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND, JOHANNESBURG, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY JOHANNESBURG, APRIL 2015 === Studies to determine which underlying motor deficits have the greatest impact on improvement in functioning within activities of daily living in stroke patients are nonexistent with regard to the South African context. Effective stroke rehabilitation is essential due to rapid discharge rates and therefore it is important to focus on the motor deficit that will contribute most significantly to function. Patients from the ages of 35 to 85, who had suffered a stroke and were admitted to a private, neurological, rehabilitation facility in Johannesburg gave consent to participate in three outcome measures determining adequacy of balance (Berg Balance Scale), upper limb movement (Frenchay Arm Test) and gait (Timed Up-and-go Test) as well as one outcome measure determining level of functioning within activities of daily living (Functional Independence Measure). Results from the pre- and post-tests indicated that all participants improved during the time of rehabilitation. The findings of the outcome measures for each of the three different motor components were correlated with functioning in ADLs for each patient. The results showed that balance had the strongest correlation with functioning in ADLs, followed by upper limb movement, and then gait. The use of the FIM as a functional measure appeared to have some limitations and is not standardised to be used within the South African context.