Effects of constraint induced movement therapy technique using wedge on weight bearing symmetry and functional balance in chronic hemiparesis patients

Weight bearing asymmetry is one of the basic causes of disturbance in maintaining balance of hemiparesis patients that could complicate standing and participation in activities of daily living in these patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the immediate effects of constraint induced movement therapy technique using wedge on symmetry index as well as the short-term effects of this technique on functional balance of chronic hemiparesis patients.

In this quasi-experimental study, twenty-one hemiparesis patients by mean age of 54.28 (±10.06) and the mean passed duration of injury 50.14 (±36.48) months were selected by simple non-probability method. The symmetry index was measured in three conditions: non-wedge, wedge 5ºand wedge 7.5º. Also, functional balance of patients was measured with Functional Reach (FR) and Timed Up and Go (TUG) tests before and after using of short-term constraint induced movement therapy technique.

According to the results of this study, symmetry index difference was significant in both wedge 5º and wedge 7.5º conditions compared with no-wedge condition (p<0.001), while it was not significant between wedge 5º and wedge 7.5º conditions. The mean scores of FR (P=0.012) and TUG (P=0.006) showed significant changes after using the constraint induced movement therapy technique

Constraint induced movement therapy technique caused immediate improvement of weight bearing symmetry and improvement of functional balance in short-term interval.