The Effect of Motor Imagery and Action Observation on Balance, Gait Length, Speed and Rhythm in Elderly Post Stroke

The purpose of present study was to determine the effects of action observation and motor imagery on balance, gait length, speed and rhythm in elderly post stroke. Twenty- four elderly post stroke participated voluntarily in the study. Stork test, Timed Up and Go test (TUG) and KINOVEA software were used in pretest and post-test. Mixed ANOVA revealed that static balance, speed and length of step improved significantly compared to pretest. Motor imagery and action observation resulted in a significant improvement in dynamic balance compared to control group. Speed step of motor imagery group was more than action observation and control group significantly and action observation group experienced significantly improvement in step rhythm compared to pretest. Finding suggested that motor imagery and action observation improves balance and gait parameters in elderly post stroke.