Functional Recovery after Supratentorial Unilateral Ischemic Stroke

Purpose: To investigate the influence of therapeutic exercises on functional recovery after supratentorial unilateral ischemic stroke (SUIS). Contingent and methods: The study was conducted in 78 patients with supratentorial unilateral stroke in the chronic period (SUISChP) - (67 patients in the experimental group (EG) - 36 males and 31 women with a pathology duration of 6.9 +/- 3.0 months and 11 patients in the control group (CG) - 9 men and 2 women with pathology duration 7.3 +/- 1.5 months). Patients from the EG were treated with a specialized 10-day kinesitherapy (KT), which was later performed as an adapted home exercise program for a period of 1 month. A modified Chedoke-McMaster scale was used to determine the gravity of the phase that the 4th and 5th stage patients had a moderate degree of involvement, and the 6th and 7th stages had a slight degree of involvement. On this basis, the patients were divided into two subgroups (moderate and mild). Results: Compared to baseline data in the experimental group, there was a significant improvement in upper and lower extremity abilities as shown by the Chedoke-McMaster test. The results of monitoring the muscle tone of upper and lower limbs, according to the Ashworth scale before and after kinesitherapy in EG, are similar. An improvement between mild and absent spasticity was noted, and the results are maximal at 1 month of treatment (p<0.001). Conclusion: The lasting positive effect in EG may be related to different mechanisms in which the applied goal-directed movements affect the functional capabilities of patients with SUISChP.