Effects of Task-Oriented Training With and Without Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation in Post-Stroke Patients

Overview

Stroke is one of the leading causes of long-term disability worldwide. Among survivors, limitations in lower limb motor function, balance, and proprioception significantly affect their independence and quality of life. There is a growing need for targeted rehabilitation strategies for stroke survivors, who often experience lower limb impairments that limit independence during a highly active stage of life. Task-oriented training (TOT) helps patients practice real-life movements, while rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS), such as metronome beats, can guide and improve their timing and coordination.

It will be a single blinded randomized controlled trial. Non-probability convenience sampling technique will be used to recruit 38 participants aged 40 to 60 years, subacute stage post-stroke from hospitals of Daska and NLH Physio Clinic. Sealed opaque method will be used to randomly divide into two groups. Group A will receive TOT along with RAS, while Group B will receive only TOT. Both groups will participate in supervised 30-minute exercise sessions, including a 10-minute warm-up and cool-down period, five days a week for eight weeks, in addition to 30 minutes of baseline conventional physiotherapy program. The interventions will focus on lower limb function, balance, proprioceptive training, and motivational engagement. Tools used for outcome assessment include the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) for motor function, Timed Up and Go (TUG) test for dynamic balance, Joint Position Sense (JPS) test for proprioception, Stroke Rehabilitation Motivation Scale (SRMS) for motivation, and the Rehabilitation Adherence Questionnaire (RAQ) for adherence. Data will be analyzed using SPSS version 25 to compare pre- and post-intervention effects. . After assessing the normality, if the p-value is greater than 0.05, a parametric test will be applied. If the p-value is less than 0.05 then a non-parametric test will be applied.