Effects of Motor Imagery and Task Oriented Approach to Improve Trunk Control in Acute Stroke Patients

Background: motor imagery technique and task oriented approach are effective emerging technique used in rehabilitation for stroke patients. The purpose of the study is to find out the comparative effect of motor imagery and task oriented approach to improve trunk control in acute stroke patients. Methods: 20 patients with acute stroke were assigned into two treatment groups. The first group (n=10) treated with task-oriented approach. The second group (n=10) treated with motor imagery. The effect of 3 weeks treatment was measured by Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS) and Modified Functional Reach Test (MFRT). Result: After 3 weeks of treatment using task oriented approach had a statistically significant improvement on recovery of trunk control in acute stroke patients than motor imagery technique. Conclusion: The study proves that task oriented approach is more effective to improve trunk control in acute patients than motor imagery technique. Keywords: Trunk impairment scale (TIS), Modified functional reach out (MFRT), motor imagery, and task oriented approach.