| Objective: To observe the effects of exercise imagination Taiji footwork on balance function, lower limb motor function and gait in patients with cerebral infarction. Methods: A total of 133 patients with cerebral infarction were randomly divided into three groups: observation group, motor imagination (MI) group and control group. The control group was treated with basic drugs and routine rehabilitation program. On the basis of the control group, the MI group received 30 min of motor imagination therapy and the observation group was subjected to 30 min of exercise imagination Tai Chi step: 7 types of Tai Chi gait were integrated into exercise imagination therapy. Fugl Meyer Rating Scale (lower limbs), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), modified Barthel Index (MBI), gait analysis, isokinetic muscle strength test and near infrared brain function imaging (fNIRS) were observed before and 8 weeks after treatment. Results: After 8 weeks of intervention, the indexes of the three groups were higher than those before treatment (P<0.05). The above indexes of the observation group were higher than those of the rest two groups (P<0.05), while the scores of FMA and MBI in the MI group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference in the BBS between the MI group and the control group. In gait analysis, after 8 weeks of intervention, the walking cycle, step deviation and left-right swing phase deviation of the three groups were significantly lower than those before treatment, and the flexion and extension angles of hip joint and knee joint on the affected side were significantly higher than those before treatment (P<0.05). The improvement of walking cycle, step length deviation, left-right swing phase deviation and hip flexion and extension of the affected side in the observation group were better than those in the MI group and the control group (P<0.05). In terms of knee flexion and extension, the observation group was only better than the control group, and there was no significant difference between the observation group and the MI group. In the walking cycle, there was no significant difference between the observation group and the rest two groups. In isokinetic muscle strength test, after 8 weeks of treatment, the ER of 180° knee and PT of 60° knee in the three groups were significantly higher than those before treatment (P<0.05), and the above two indexes in the observation group were higher than those in the MI group and the control group (P<0.05), and those in MI group were also higher than those in control group (P<0.05). In terms of fNIRS, there was no significant difference in the concentration of three regions in the three groups before treatment. After 8 weeks of treatment, the concentrations of SMC and SMA in the three groups were higher than those before treatment (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference in PMC area among the three groups. The SMC area in the observation group was significantly greater than in the other rest groups (P<0.05), and PMC area in the observation group was significantly greater than in the control group. There was no significant difference in the PMC area among the three groups. Conclusion: Taiji exercise imagination therapy can effectively improve the movement, balance function and abnormal gait of patients’ lower limbs, and improve the ability of daily living of patients. It is worthy of further clinical study and application. |
