Observations on the effects of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation techniques in the treatment of hemiplegia.

Observations were made on nine patients with hemiplegia until a period of one year or more had elapsed since the onset of their paralysis. The results of simple tests of function showed that improvement occurred up to one year from the onset of the hemiplegia, though the important improvement was in the first six months. Observation on four patients receiving treatment with PNF techniques showed that there was no improvement in dexterity which could be solely attributed to this treatment, though there was some evidence of improvement in strength,