What happened?
A 71-year-old woman living in a rural area had severe right-sided hemiplegia five years after a left-hemisphere ischaemic stroke. The report evaluates a structured home-based physiotherapy programme using techniques based on the PNF concept.
Clinical findings
- Severe right hemiplegia persisted five years after stroke.
- Baseline lower-limb Fugl-Meyer score was 50 and Timed Up and Go was 69 seconds.
- The report assessed motor function, trunk control, mobility, activities of daily living and quality of life.
Rehabilitation described in the report
- Twenty one-hour home physiotherapy sessions over two months, delivered two to three times per week.
- PNF-based techniques were used with individualised goals and repeated outcome assessment; the full paper should be consulted for the detailed session content.
Reported outcomes
- Lower-limb Fugl-Meyer score increased from 50 to 59 after 20 sessions; TUG improved from 69 to 65 seconds.
- Quality-of-life scores improved, while Barthel Index remained 85 and overall Rivermead Motor Assessment changes were minimal.
Clinical lessons to consider
- Home-based rehabilitation may be feasible for people with chronic stroke who have limited access to specialised services.
- Track motor impairment, mobility, ADLs and quality of life separately because they may not change in parallel.
- Continue follow-up after treatment ends because some gains may decline.
Limitations — what this case cannot tell us
- Single case report; results cannot be generalised to the wider stroke population or establish PNF superiority.
- The study reported no change in Barthel independence and only limited change in some functional measures.
Original source
Tomasz Zwoliński, Kamila Gworys, Michał Licznerski, Katarzyna Zorena. “Home Physiotherapy Using the Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Concept in a Patient With Chronic Hemiplegia in a Rural Area: A Case Report.” Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2025. DOI: 10.3390/jcm14248913
View the original publicationThis page is an independently written educational summary, not a reproduction of the full paper. Check the original article for complete methods, outcome tables, references and licensing.