Comparative Study of Immediate and Short Term Effect of 4 Days of Scapular Stabilizing Exercises and Scapular Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation on Scapular Alignment and Functional Task in Patients with Stroke – An Experimental Study

Background: Stroke is the commonest neurological cause of morbidity and mortality all over the world. Alterations in scapular position and motion occur in 68–100% of patients due to changes in the tone of the upper extremity and reduced strength, leading to an altered position of the scapula. Scapular stabilizing exercises and Scapular PNF have been shown to be effective individually in improving scapular control. However, its effect on functional tasks and objective measurement has not been studied. So, the purpose of the study is to compare these two techniques to identify the better technique with respect to objective measurement and its effect on functional tasks. Methodology: An Experimental study was done in a tertiary care hospital on 18 patients according to inclusion criteria and was divided into two groups. Group A Scapular Stabilizing Exercises and Group B Scapular Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation and Intervention were given for four days, and pre and post-assessment were done by Palpation meter (PALM) and Functional tasks  (lifting and lowering the cup). Results: The results showed significant improvement in both techniques, i.e., there is a decrease in the Total Height discrepancy (t = 3.4) (p 0.003) and the time taken for lifting and lowering the cup (t = 2.2) (p 0.04). Conclusion: Scapula Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Exercises are more effective than Scapula Stabilizing Exercises and have a better short-term effect on Scapular Alignment and Functional Tasks in patients with Stroke.

Keywords: Stroke, Scapular Alignment, Scapular Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation