Immediate effects of sitting training on a tilting platform in the early post stroke period: Analysis of EMG and motion of the trunk

Abstract

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of sitting training on a tilting platform on acute hemiparetic patients. [Methods] Twenty stroke patients participated in this study. Intervention: The experimental group patients sat on a platform tilted 10° to the paretic side in the frontal plane. The control group patients sat on a horizontal platform. Both groups moved their trunks laterally to the non-paretic side 60 times. Assessment: Subjects sat on a horizontal platform and moved their trunk laterally to the left or right as much as they could. During this task, we measured the trunk angle and bilateral electromyographic activity. [Results] After intervention, both groups showed greater decrease in lateral bending to the paretic side. In the experimental group, the activity of the external oblique muscle on the affected side was significantly increased in lateral bending to the non-paretic side after the intervention. [Conclusion] These results suggest that tilting platform sitting training can improve EO muscle activity on the non-paretic side. © 2012, The Society of Physical Therapy Science. All rights reserved.