Rapid Movement Therapy for Stroke Rehabilitation

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Rapid Movement Therapy With Real-time Feedback to Improve Balance Recovery for Fall Prevention After Stroke

Stroke survivors have higher risks of falling compared to other healthy non-stroke adults. Stroke patients' balance can be trained by Kinect-based training that enable user friendly and interactive training.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. have single stroke with onset >1 year,
2. have unilateral paresis,
3. are 50 years of age or older,
4. able to stand without aid for at least 15min,
5. have moderate level of motor impairment in the affective upper limb, i.e. 15≤ Fugl-Meyer Assessment for upper-extremity(FMA-UE) ≤ 45,
6. have some level of deficit in balance control, i.e. Berg Balance Scale(BBS)< 52/56,
7. have a minimum Snellen visual acuity of 20/40 with/without spectacles,
8. have a minimum Mini-Mental-Status-Examination score of 22/30, and
9. have to be able to follow the training procedures.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. enrolled in other rehabilitation program in the study duration,
2. have other neurological conditions in addition to stroke (e.g. Parkinson's disease),
3. have unstable cardiovascular disease (e.g. history of heart disease, or poorly controlled hypertension, i.e. blood pressure >160mmHg/100mmHg), or
4. have other serious diseases or conditions (e.g. osteoporosis, recent joint replacement surgery, amputation) that preclude them from participating in the study.