Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jul 6, 2023; 11(19): 4531-4543
Published online Jul 6, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i19.4531
Application of cross-migration theory in limb rehabilitation of stroke patients with hemiplegia
Yan-Hong Lu, Yi Fu, Jin Shu, Li-Yan Yan, Hai-Jian Shen
Yan-Hong Lu, Yi Fu, Jin Shu, Geriatric Rehabilitation Department, Shanghai Jing'an District Shibei Hospital, Shanghai 200040, China
Li-Yan Yan, Hai-Jian Shen, Department of Nursing, Shanghai Jing'an District Shibei Hospital, Shanghai 200040, China
Author contributions: Lu YH and Fu Y contributed equally to this work; Shu J designed the study; Yan LY contributed to the analysis of the manuscript; Shen HJ and Lu YH were involved in the data and writing of this article; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Department of Geriatric Rehabilitation, Shibei Hospital, Jing'an District, Shanghai Institutional Review Board.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hai-Jian Shen, RN, Associate Chief Nurse, Department of Nursing, Shanghai Jing'an District Shibei Hospital, No. 4460 Gonghe Xin Road, Jing'an District, Shanghai 200040, China. lemondeer2001Lyh@163.com
Received: April 6, 2023
Peer-review started: April 6, 2023
First decision: April 19, 2023
Revised: May 8, 2023
Accepted: May 22, 2023
Article in press: May 22, 2023
Published online: July 6, 2023
Processing time: 85 Days and 3.1 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Stroke is a common cause of neurological dysfunction, often resulting in hemiplegia. Thus, rehabilitation of limb function in stroke patients is an important step towards accelerating recovery and improving quality of life.

AIM

To investigate whether unilateral strength training in hemiplegic stroke patients could lead to cross-migration, an increase in bilateral muscle strength, and an improvement in lower limb motor function.

METHODS

We randomly divided 120 patients with hemiplegic stroke into two groups: Eexperimental and control groups, with 60 patients in each group. Both groups received routine rehabilitation treatment, while the experimental group additionally received ankle dorsiflexion resistance training on the healthy side for 6 wk. We measured the maximum voluntary contract (MVC), changes in surface electromyography (EMG), and the lower limb motor function using the simplified Fugl Meyer Motor Function Assessment Scale (FMA) before and within 1 wk after training.

RESULTS

The FMA score in the experimental group improved significantly compared to both their pre-training score and the control group's post-training score (P < 0.05). The integrated EMG of the anterior tibialis muscle and pulmonary intestine muscle in the experimental group were significantly different after training than before (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the MVC of the anterior tibialis muscle on both the healthy and affected sides and the MVC of the pulmonary intestine muscle on both sides showed significant improvement compared with before training and the control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that ankle dorsiflexion resistance training on the healthy side in hemiplegic stroke patients can increase strength in the opposite tibialis anterior muscle and antagonist's muscle, indicating a cross-migration phenomenon of strength training. Furthermore, this type of training can also improve lower limb motor function, providing a new exercise method for improving early ankle dorsiflexion dysfunction.

Keywords: Stroke hemiplegia; Cross migration; Strength training; Lower limb function; Resistance training

Core Tip: Unilateral ankle dorsiflexion resistance training on the healthy side can improve lower limb motor function and lead to cross-migration of strength in hemiplegic stroke patients.