Introduction: The balance disability and pathological gait caused by neurological impairments deter activities of everyday living and social participation, deteriorate the quality of life, and increase the risk of falling. Physical therapeutic intervention plays a critical role in improving the balance disability and pathological gait. For effective physical therapy, accurate assessment of a patient is a priority.

Purpose: This study examined the effects of taping therapy on the balance and gait of stroke patients. Methods: The subjects of this study were 30 stroke patients. The treatment groups were prescribed a combination of taping, therapy applied simultaneously to the ankle and the hip joint, and general physical therapy twice a day for 30 minutes each, five days per week for 4 weeks for a total of 40 times. The control group was treated with general physical therapy for 30 minutes, 5 times per week for 4 weeks, and total 40 times. All subjects were followed up on a Berg balance scale, timed up and go test, activity-specific balance confidence scale, and GaitRite. Results: The group that simultaneously received taping therapy to the ankle and hip joint showed more significant effects than the group treated with ankle joint taping only (p< 0.05). Effects were noted in the Berg balance scale, timed up and go test, activity-specific balance confidence scale and gait ability test. Compared to the control group, the group treated at the ankle and hip joint showed significant effects after the experiment in the Berg balance scale, timed up and go test, activity-specific balance confidence scale, and gait ability test (p< 0.05). Conclusion: Taping therapy applied to both the ankle and hip joints, and combined with general physical therapy appears to be effective in patients with chronic stroke who have an impaired balance and gait ability. This is an Open Access article distribute under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License (Http:// creativecommons.org/license/by-nc/4.0.) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution,and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study looked into physical therapists’ perception and use of balance measures for stroke patients. [Subjects and Methods] Three hundred eighty two physical therapists who understood the purpose of this study, agreed on their participation in this study, were treating or treated stroke patients. A Cross-sectional study based on self-administered questionnaire that had a total of 41 questions was performed in South Korea. 382 questionnaires were used for analysis. [Results] Regarding the questions about their perception and of personal measures, 287 persons (75.1%) replied that Single Leg Stance test was the most useful. According to the data analysis on their use of balance measures, Single Leg Stance Test was used by 254 persons (66.5%, the highest percentage), Functional Reach Test by 199 (52.1%). Also, stepwise multiple regression analysis was conducted. As a result, the most influential factor was physical therapists’ perception of personal measures, and their use was also influenced by their comprehensive perception of measurement and their perception of balance factors. [Conclusion] This study revealed physical therapists’ perception and use of balance measures for stroke patients and showed that their perception of balance measures for stroke patients affected their use of personal measures.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the physical therapists' perception of the use of gait measures, the frequency of the gait measures used, and also to identify the barriers that limit the use of these assessment tools. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Physical therapists from the Seoul, Gyeonggi area from March to July 2016 were included in the study. Over the course of 18 weeks, a cross-sectional study was conducted with a self-report questionnaire. A total of 700 questionnaires were distributed and 350 questionnaires (50%) were collected, however with the exclusion of 140 questionnaires due to non-consent, a total of 210 questionnaires (30%) were analysed. Results: Out of the 10 standardized assessment tools, the therapists showed the highest perception for the timed up and go test (TUG [n=153, 72.9%]) and they also had high perception for the 10 meters walk test (10MWT [n=149, 71.0%]), and 6-minute walk test (6MWT [n=123, 58.6%]). The respondents answered that the TUG (n=116, 55.2%), 10MWT (n=100, 47.6%), and 6MWT (n=51, 24.3%) was used the most often. On the contrary, only four (1.9%) therapists have used the Chedoke-McMaster stroke assessment and the Rivermead Mobility Index. The lack of time was considered as the most important barrier to the use of assessment tools in clinical practice. Conclusions: Through this study, it has been shown that the domestic physical therapists used the TUG and the 10MWT mainly due to high recognition and evaluation status; however, the lack of time was the greatest impediment to the clinical application of the gait assessment tools.

Purpose:This study aimed to systematically analyze the reliability and validity of Korean versions of mobility and gait assessment tools for patients with stroke. Methods: Two reviewers conducted an independent literature search and systematically reviewed the literature. Literature published until June of 2017 was searched using search engines for electronic databases. The 2 reviewers reviewed the title and abstract of each article. Among the articles examined, we read the full text of those judged to be suitable for our study. We classified the selected data into research methods and results. The determination was made through mutual agreement. Results: The reviewers selected 5 articles related to the purpose of this study. The DGI was found to be moderately associated with BBS, 10MWT, and TUG in intra-rater reliability (ICC= 0.92), inter-rater reliability (ICC= 0.88), and concurrent validity tests. The FGA demonstrated a high level of reliability with intra-rater (ICC= 0.92-0.95) and inter-rater reliability (ICC= 0.91, 0.95). The intra-rater reliability of the RMI was high at ICC= 0.98. Its concurrent validity showed a high association with STREAM and BI. The intra-rater reliability of the MAS was ICC= 0.75-0.99. Its inter-rater reliability was very high, exceeding 0.99. The inter-rater reliability of the Tinetti-gait Scale was ICC= 0.91, and its concurrent validity was moderately associated with the DGI, 10WMT, OLST, FM-L/E, and STS. Conclusion:The results of this study revealed that the reliability and validity of the Korean versions of the mobility and gait assessment tools were high.