Background: In stroke, the trunk muscle weakness can interfere with balance and stability, which may reduce the functional ability .Trunk training, becomes important in early stages of stroke rehabilitation which requires activities to be repetitive and task-oriented and includes active participation of the patient. Virtual reality training has gained widespread application in stroke rehabilitation however use of such technology for improving trunk control has not been explored.

Objective:

To examine the effect of Kinect based trunk training in patients with stroke on trunk control, dynamic balance in sitting and function

Methods:

26 patients with trunk impairments were recruited .Using block randomization, 13 patients were assigned to experimental group and 13 patients to control group. Both groups received conventional physical therapy for six sessions. In addition, the control group received computer based gaming along with upper limb activity with mouse for thirty minutes while the experimental group received  Kinect based trunk training using the Jintronix Rehabilitation System for thirty minutes. At the baseline (pre) and post intervention, following outcome measures: Trunk impairment scale (scores), Motor Assessment Scale (scores), Sit and reach test (distance in cms), were administered and documented by blinded rater.

Results: All the three outcome measures showed a significant difference between both groups with greater improvement in experimental group (p<0.5)  i.e. TIS score(p=0.001), MAS score(p=0.037) and SRT distance(p=0.01)

Conclusion: Kinect based virtual reality training can be incorporated in early stroke rehabilitation to improve trunk control and sitting function.