The effects of task-oriented training with altered sensory input on balance in patients with chronic stroke.

The final analysis included only 14 experimental patients and 12 control patients, so the finding is based on a small group. The paper does not say whether assignment was random, how assignment was kept concealed, or whether outcome measurement was blinded. Both groups received general physical therapy, so the added task-oriented training cannot be separated from usual care. Participants had to be at least six months after stroke, walk ten meters independently, and score 24 or above on a mental status test, so the results may not apply to more impaired patients. Baseline Berg Balance Scale scores were 43.9 in the experimental group and 48.2 in the control group, so the groups were not equal on that measure before intervention. The intervention lasted four weeks, and the authors suggest this may be why limit-of-stability and confidence outcomes did not differ between groups.

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Do not read this as proof that altered sensory input alone improves balance after stroke. The experimental group also received general physical therapy, and only the Berg Balance Scale showed a significant between-group advantage after adjustment; other balance outcomes did not show significant differences.