Prognosis of stroke in children after three months of regular physical therapy in Lahore.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects and significance of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation exercises on stroke patients. METHODS The prospective follow-up study was conducted from January, 2012, to June, 2012, and comprised randomly-selected patients at the Department of Neurology, Children Hospital and Institute of Child Health, Lahore, Using systematic sampling the patients were divided into two groups. Patients in group I were subjected to Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation therapy, while those in group II were treated by passive range of motion exercises only. All patients were followed up at months 1, 2 and 3. Data was collected through a questionnaire, while muscle strength was evaluated through Medical Research Council scale. All date was analysed using SPSS 20. RESULTS There were 50 patients in the study who were all below 15 years of age. Muscle strength of affected side at baseline in the experimental group I was 2.36±0.49 and in the control group II it was 2.60±0.50. At the end of the three-month follow-up, it had considerably increased to 4.76±0.43 in group I while it was 3.80±0.50 in grgup II (p<0.0001) CONCLUSION: Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation technique was an effective method in terms of pain relief, stiffness reduction and functional improvement.