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Background: Many studies hypothesize that people who have suffered stroke could benefit from water-based exercises to improve their strength and ability to perform the activities of daily living.Objective: The study aim was to compare the effects of a water-based sequential preparatory approach (SPA) and conventional aquatic therapy in improving motor functions and quality of life in patients with chronic stroke.Methods: Thirty-three chronic stroke outpatients diagnosed with hemiplegia were recruited and randomly assigned to the experimental or control group. Subjects in the experimental group underwent a trial water-based SPA balance training, and patients in the control group were given traditional water balance training. Both groups of participants underwent 45 min of therapy twice a week for 4 weeks. All patients were evaluated before treatment (T0), after 4 weeks of training (T1), and 4 weeks after the end of training (T2) using the Berg balance scale (BBS), the modified Barthel index (MBI), the Tinetti balance and gait scale (TBG), the Stroke Specific Quality Of Life Scale (SS-QOL), and the modified Ashworth scale (MAS).Results: After the training, statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were found between the groups in their score averages on the BBS (p = 0.01) and the SS-QOL scale (p = 0.03). Furthermore, the SPAg showed a significantly greater percentage of improvement on the BBS (p = 0.02) and the SS-QOL (p = 0.03). Both groups obtained a significantly improved MAS score (p < 0.01).Conclusion: Results indicate that water training based on an SPA is more effective than traditional aquatic training for balance rehabilitation of chronic poststroke patients.

Somatosensory information arising from the foot has an important role in posture as well as visual and vestibular cues. Our hypothesis is that the effects of prolonged stimulation are greater than those of short stimulation and that varying the plantar location can affect postural control. Forty healthy participants were recruited and randomly assigned to four different plantar location groups: Lateral Insert (LI), Medial Insert (MI), Disharmonious Insert (DI), and Central Insert (CI). An instrumental assessment was performed before the plantar stimulation (T0), immediately after the positioning of the inserts (T1), and after 7 days of daily stimulation (T7). A follow-up was performed 15 days after (T15). The following stabilometric parameters were considered for both open eyes (OE) and closed eyes (CE) conditions: length of the sway (L) of the Center of Pressure (CoP); CoP maximum movements in the medio-lateral (X), and antero-posterior directions (Y). Comparing the effects of different plantar insert locations, the MI and CI groups were significantly different in the follow-up measures at T15, specifically for closed eyes measures. When we compared measures across time within each location group, CI group increased measures of X and Y data at T7 compared to other assessment times (T0, T1, and T15). In both MI and LI groups, L was significantly reduced, and X significantly increased at the T7 assessment compared to the T0, T1, and T15 assessments. The prolonged use of exteroceptive plantar stimulation and the location of plantar inserts may have a role to reshape postural control.

Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) is a therapeutic approach aimed at enhancing the body’s self-regulation focusing on somatic dysfunctions correction. Despite evidence of OMT effectiveness, the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms, as well as blood perfusion effects, are still poorly understood. The study aim was to address OMT effects on cerebral blood flow (CBF) in asymptomatic young volunteers as measured by Magnetic Resonance Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) method. Thirty blinded participants were randomized to OMT or placebo, and evaluated with an MRI protocol before manual intervention (T0), immediately after (T1), and 3 days later (T2). After T0 MRI, participants received 45 min of OMT, focused on correcting whole body somatic dysfunctions, or placebo manual treatment, consisting of passive touches in a protocolled order. After treatment, participants completed a de-blinding questionnaire about treatment perception. Results show significant differences due to treatment only for the OMT group (OMTg): perfusion decreased (compared to T0) in a cluster comprising the left posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and the superior parietal lobule, while increased at T2 in the contralateral PCC. Furthermore, more than 60% of participants believed they had undergone OMT. The CBF modifications at T2 suggest that OMT produced immediate but reversible effects on CBF.