Environmental-perturbation Balance Training Improves Functional Outcomes in Patients With Subacute Stroke

This study innovatively proposes an "environment-perturbation balance training (E-PBT)" intervention, which delivers stable, graded environmental perturbations to keep the challenges within the manageable range. This approach can significantly reduce fear, align with the psychological characteristics of subacute stroke patients, and improve training engagement and safety, thereby filling the current research gap that has insufficiently addressed subacute patients and those with moderate-to-low functional levels. By altering the size and angle of the support surface, this training heightens patients' alertness and psychological adaptability, prompting them to actively integrate sensory information and adjust motor strategies. In turn, this can more effectively reshape internal model of balance control and facilitate genuine neuroadaptive learning in the brain. Moreover, this training more closely mimics real-life fall scenarios, with the aim of directly cultivating the proactive postural control and strategic decision-making abilities required in daily living.

This study aims to systematically evaluate the efficacy of this E-PBT intervention on functional recovery in patients during the subacute stage of stroke through a prospective randomized controlled trial, and to explore its potential effects on balance ability, activities of daily living, and overall functional outcomes, thereby providing a more effective and clinically translatable new strategy for post-stroke rehabilitation.