Impairments and their assessment in stroke patients

Abstract

Impairments resulting from stroke are wide ranging. In this article, I discuss the nature of motor palsy and spasticity, which are the main impairments of stroke patients, and the assessment of them. For the assessment of motor palsy, Brunnstrom's recovery stages and motor function tests in the Stroke Impairment Assessment Set (SIAS) are compared; and for the assessment of spasticity, the Modified Ashworth Scale and the Modified Tardieu Scale are compared. I also discuss the assessment of balance ability in patients with stroke.