Balance
Balance is evaluated on 7 items. Again, points are administered for independence and strength of performance of individual actions, such as sitting or standing. Maximum score for this section is 14.
The Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living
The Barthel scale (reference) is a ten item index assessing patients Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and morbidity, including: absence or presence or faecal and/or urinary incontinence, as well needing help with grooming, toilet use, feeding, transfers, morbidity, dressing, stairs and bathing. Ordinal scores can vary across items e.g. item bathing: 0 points for dependent or 5 points for independent or item transfers (to bed, to chair and back): 0 points for unable, no sitting balance, …show more content…
Brain lesions mostly affect only one side of the brain affecting the extremity on the opposite side of the body. Measures of daily and domestic activities measure the result and not how the task is performed, for example, with the other extremity. Yet, this result indicates lesser importance of this factor on functional autonomy.
In aspect of these findings, future research must most notably investigate the relationship of balance and transfers, and how these as well as their relationship to health related quality of life. Also studies must include larger samples and exclude time since stroke as a factor.
In sum, the relationship of age, time since stroke, and motor function indices balance and hand and wrist function was a significant predictor of ADL, measured using the Barthel In-dex. Yet only balance was a significant independent predictor, thus the relationship of bal-ance and aspects of specific items of the Barthel Index, as well as health related quality of life must be investigated and potentially comprehensive therapy programs aimed to im-prove functional autonomy should predominantly focus on improving balance
Balance is evaluated on 7 items. Again, points are administered for independence and strength of performance of individual actions, such as sitting or standing. Maximum score for this section is 14.
The Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living
The Barthel scale (reference) is a ten item index assessing patients Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and morbidity, including: absence or presence or faecal and/or urinary incontinence, as well needing help with grooming, toilet use, feeding, transfers, morbidity, dressing, stairs and bathing. Ordinal scores can vary across items e.g. item bathing: 0 points for dependent or 5 points for independent or item transfers (to bed, to chair and back): 0 points for unable, no sitting balance, …show more content…
Brain lesions mostly affect only one side of the brain affecting the extremity on the opposite side of the body. Measures of daily and domestic activities measure the result and not how the task is performed, for example, with the other extremity. Yet, this result indicates lesser importance of this factor on functional autonomy.
In aspect of these findings, future research must most notably investigate the relationship of balance and transfers, and how these as well as their relationship to health related quality of life. Also studies must include larger samples and exclude time since stroke as a factor.
In sum, the relationship of age, time since stroke, and motor function indices balance and hand and wrist function was a significant predictor of ADL, measured using the Barthel In-dex. Yet only balance was a significant independent predictor, thus the relationship of bal-ance and aspects of specific items of the Barthel Index, as well as health related quality of life must be investigated and potentially comprehensive therapy programs aimed to im-prove functional autonomy should predominantly focus on improving balance