Factors Affecting Functional Recovery in Patients with Stroke Upto 6 Months – A Longitudinal Study

Introduction: Stroke is a major cause of short-term functional impairment in developed countries, in absence of adequate treatment and rehabilitation which can lead to significant long-term functional impairment. Stroke recovery is heterogeneous but usually follows a common pattern, in which the largest regain of function occurs during the first weeks poststroke. So, objectives were to study the pattern of clinical recovery by using Brunnstrom recovery Stage (BRS) for Upper Limb, Hand and Lower limb, functional recovery by using Rivermead mobility index (RMI), Stroke Rehabilitation Assessment of Movement (STREAM) and factors affecting functional recovery in patients with Stroke upto 6 months. Methods: 46 patients with acute Stroke were recruited in a longitudinal study. Patient’s functionality was assessed using STREAM & RMI over time using different scales and BRS for clinical recovery at Baseline i.e., 0-8 days, 1 month, at 3 Months, at 6 Months after Stroke. Result: STREAM upper limb (F – 4.84, p-0.003), RMI (F-12.27, p- <0.0001), BRS for Upper limb (F 4.56, p-0.004) showed very significant improvement from baseline to 6 months. STREAM Lower limb and Basic mobility (F- 8.49, p- <0.0001 and F- 13.55, p-<0.0001), BRS for lower limb (F-4.44, p-0.005) showed extremely significant improvement from baseline to 6 months Conclusion: The study concluded that the Stroke severity, Cognitive ability, age, Gender, Disease awareness about Stroke affects functional recovery upto six months. Rapid recovery was observed during first 4 weeks and was also observed from 3 to 6 months after Stroke, but to a lesser extent. Key words: Stroke, Functional Recovery, STREAM, RMI.