<p>Effectiveness of Body Awareness Therapy in Stroke Survivors: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials</p>

Abstract

Body awareness therapy has been hypothesized as an effective program for maintaining balance and improving gait function in patients with neurological diseases. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of recent studies in a systematic way to confirm its efficacy on stroke survivors. The objective of this review was to synthesize the current evidence on the effectiveness of body awareness therapy on balance and gait function in stroke survivors. A comprehensive search of PubMed, CINAHL, AMED, PEDro, EMBASE, REHABDATA Database, and Scopus was done to identify randomized controlled trials of body awareness therapy in individuals with stroke. The PEDro scale was used to evaluate the methodological quality of included trials. The primary outcome measures of this review were the 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT) and Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Due to varying included trials, metaanalysis was not carried out. Nine randomized controlled trials with 332 patients were analyzed. Body awareness therapy exhibited a moderate confirmation to better balance and gait function of stroke survivors. Body awareness therapy could be a well-founded rehabilitative intervention and might support enhanced balance and gait function of individuals with stroke.

The Effects of mirror therapy in postural and kinesthetic rehabilitation on stance phase of gait in subacute stroke

“…By the sixth week, this group showed significantly higher functional scores compared to the mirror therapy group. These results are consistent with the findings of Green et al, who emphasized the importance of traditional rehabilitation techniques, including proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation and electrical stimulation, in enhancing functional recovery in stroke patients (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13). The improvement in functional outcomes could be attributed to the comprehensive approach of conventional+KTR therapy, which integrates multiple modalities aimed at restoring motor function and enhancing proprioceptive feedback.…”

“…In Pakistan, stroke incidence is notably high, with approximately 250 cases per 100,000 people, imposing substantial financial, emotional, and physical burdens on patients and their families (7). Various treatment modalities, including constraint-induced movement therapy, mental imagery training, robotic-assisted rehabilitation, mirror therapy, perturbation-based balance training, and body awareness therapy, aim to enhance functional outcomes in stroke patients (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13). The clinical classification of stroke encompasses acute, subacute, and chronic stages, with the subacute phase spanning one to five months.…”

Preliminary Rasch analysis of the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness in adults with stroke

“…Worldwide, approximately 15 million people suffer a stroke each year. Roughly, half are left with permanent disabilities impeding upper limb use in daily activities, balance, and ambulation as well as influencing mental health and coping strategies [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]. As part of the ongoing body of research, it is essential to use outcome measures that support accurate assessment of body awareness, especially when body awareness is assessed in studies with interventions aimed at training body awareness in this population.…”

“…were removed because they demonstrated a Guttman-like response pattern covering a wide logit-range from -9 logits to 1 logit as displayed (FigureS1, FigureS2). Next, items11,12,18,20,26,30, and 31 all displayed small thresholds in the middle scoring categories of each item's scale and were rescored to improve fit to the model as indicated in the iteration table (S1 Table…”

“…The PCAR analysis showed an eigenvalue of 4.78 and percentage variance of 16.49%, indicating that underneath the broader aspect of interoceptive awareness, the MAIA may encompass about 5 aspects of interoceptive awareness. The paired t-tests showed that the person location on the subtests created by the positive (items 2,19,20,21,22,27,28,29) and negative (items11,12,13,14,17,30,31) loadings on the first principal component showed that 21.95% of the person locations…”