Longitudinal study of postural and locomotor function development in clients with brain damage

Abstract

Background: Acquired brain injury (ABI) is a disease that causes severe disability. For this reason, we established an interprofessional rehabilitation team consisting of physicians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and social workers operating in home settings -in an effort to minimize the consequences of long-term disability. Objectives: Evaluate the development of postural and balance functions (over a 9-month period) in 17 clients with ABI undergoing individualized 3-month physiotherapy in the home setting. Methods: Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Timed Up and Go test (TUG) were used to quantify the functional status of the clients. A total of 4 assessments were completed at the initial, 3 months, 6 months, and final 9-months examinations. Results: According to BBS and TUG, 15 clients showed an improvement in their balance functions after the intervention; 2 clients were unable to complete the TUG, and 6 clients remained at risk of falling. Conclusions: Our results showed a clear benefit of the physiotherapeutic intervention. However, 6 months after completion, one-third of the clients had worse results on the TUG; although 15 clients continued to improve according to the BBS. This indicates the higher sensitivity of the TUG test for evaluating balance functions, and that physiotherapeutic interventions should be prolonged, particularly in clients with a Functional Independence Measure instrument (FIM) of less than 6 points.