Effects of kinesthetic illusion induced by visual stimulation on the ankle joint for sit-to-stand in a hemiparesis stroke patient: ABA' single-case design.
Junpei Tanabe, Kazu Amimoto, Katsuya Sakai and 2 others
PMID 35035082WHAT IT FOUND
In one stroke patient, conventional physiotherapy plus 5 minutes of a video that made the paralyzed ankle appear to move for 5 days was followed by better weight-bearing symmetry and ankle dorsiflexion, but not faster sit-to-stand.
The video's separate effect is unclear.
Key findings
01Weight-bearing symmetry during sit-to-stand was better when the video illusion was added to conventional physiotherapy and after it stopped.
02Paralyzed-side ankle dorsiflexion during sit-to-stand was better when the video illusion was added and after it stopped.
03Sit-to-stand duration and movement speeds during sit-to-stand did not significantly improve.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only one person was studied, so this cannot show that the technique works for other stroke patients. The video illusion was given together with conventional physiotherapy, including stretching the triceps surae, active dorsiflexion, sit-to-stand, balance, and walking exercises, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. The study lasted 15 days, with only 5 days per phase, so longer-term effects were not tested. The participant was a 33-year-old man 133 days after stroke with Brunnstrom stage IV, so results may not apply to other stroke stages or times. The researchers did not measure muscle activity or brain/corticospinal excitability, so the proposed mechanism was not tested.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that watching an inverted ankle video improves sit-to-stand for stroke patients. Only one patient was tested, the video was added to conventional physiotherapy, and sit-to-stand duration did not significantly improve.