Effect of early functional training on psychological rehabilitation in stroke patients

doi:10.3321/j.issn:1673-8225.2005.01.010

Abstract：BACKGROUND: Functional disabilities of the limbs greatly affect the quality of life of patients with stroke and often cause serious anxiety and depression. Severe psychological problems discourage the patients' confidence in the future life, which aggravates the functional disabilities and hinders the restoration of normal activity. Early functional training is therefore necessary after stroke.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of early functional training in alleviating anxiety and depression in patients with stoke.DESIGN: A self-controlled study.SETTING: Rehabilitation Department in a university hospital.PARTICIPANTS: A total of 30 patients with stroke were hospitalized in Department of Neurology, the Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University between June 2002 and January 2003. Eighteen male and 12 female patients were included, among whom 11 suffered hemorrhagic stroke and 19 had ischemic stroke.INTERVENTIONS: The patients were given routine anticoagulation and hemostatic treatment and functional training employing neural facilitation for40 -45 minutes each time on a daily basis, in an average treatment course of one month.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Limb function assessment with Brunnstrom scale and evaluation with hospital anxiety and depression scale(HADS) were performed before and after treatment.RESULTS: Limbs functions of the patients were significantly improved after treatment, and the anxiety score and depression score significantly decreased from(14. 33 ±4. 57) to(3. 83 ±2.59) for the former and from( 13.33 ± 4.27) to(4.43 ± 2.33) for the latter, respectively( t = 10. 944and 10.023, P ＜0.01).CONCLUSION: Early functional training helps improve anxiety and depression after stroke.