Telerehabilitation for balance rehabilitation in the subacute stage of stroke: A pilot controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Telerehabilitation has been proposed as an effective strategy to deliver post-stroke specific exercise. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness and feasibility of core stability exercises guided by a telerehabilitation App after hospital discharge. METHODS: Extension of a prospective controlled trial. Subacute stage stroke survivors were included at the time of hospital discharge where they had participated in a previous 5-week randomized controlled trial comparing conventional physiotherapy versus core stability exercises. After discharge, patients from the experimental group were offered access to telerehabilitation to perform core stability exercises at home (AppG), while those from the control group were subject to usual care (CG). The Spanish-version of the Trunk Impairment Scale 2.0 (S-TIS 2.0), Function in Sitting Test (S-FIST), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Spanish-version of Postural Assessment for Stroke Patients (S-PASS), the number of falls, Brunel Balance Assessment (BBA) and Gait were assessed before and after 3 months intervention. RESULTS: A total of 49 subjects were recruited. AppG showed greater improvement in balance in both sitting and standing position and gait compared with CG, although no statistically significant differences were obtained. CONCLUSION: Core stability exercises Telerehabilitation as a home-based guide appears to improve balance in post-stroke stage. Future studies are necessary to confirm the effects as well as identifying strategies to increase telerehabilitation adherence.