Comparison Between Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation to Abdominal and Back Muscles on Postural Balance in Post-stroke Hemiplegic Patients

Objective To compare the effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) to abdominal muscles and back muscles on postural balance in post-stroke hemiplegic patients. Methods Thirty post-stroke hemiplegic patients were prospectively enrolled and randomly assigned to one of the three groups: core muscle-strengthening exercise (CME) with NMES to abdominal muscles (group A), CME with NMES to back muscles (group B), and CME alone (group C). All subjects underwent their targeted interventions for 30 minutes each day, 5 days per week for 3 weeks under a conventional stroke rehabilitation program. Subjects were evaluated using Korean version of Berg Balance Scale (K-BBS), Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS), Korean version of Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI), Weight Distribution Index (WDI), and Stability Index (SI) just before and 3 weeks after intervention. Results Changes in K-BBS (p