What happened?
A 63-year-old man with an acute pontine lacunar infarction had balance and gait difficulties despite relatively preserved strength and selective movement. The team investigated proprioception more quantitatively and tailored treatment to the identified impairment.
Clinical findings
- Berg Balance Scale score was 42 and Gait Assessment and Intervention Tool score was 9 at the described assessment.
- Gait showed knee buckling and hip ataxia.
- Quantitative testing included threshold to detect passive motion and joint position sense.
Rehabilitation described in the report
- A 13-day programme used sensory-threshold TENS targeting the quadriceps femoris, alongside clinical assessment and rehabilitation.
- The report links treatment planning to measured proprioceptive impairment.
Reported outcomes
- At discharge, the patient walked independently; Berg Balance Scale improved from 42 to 56 and GAIT score from 9 to 2.
Clinical lessons to consider
- Weakness is not the only explanation for post-stroke gait dysfunction.
- Measure the impairment you suspect where feasible, then connect findings to function.
- Read the full article for the protocol and context before reproducing the intervention.
Limitations — what this case cannot tell us
- A single case cannot establish that TENS or the assessment method caused the recovery.
- Stroke recovery and concurrent care may contribute to observed change.
Original source
Aisuke Takahashi, Shun Kitsunai, Hikaru Kawana, Naoshi Saito, Akioh Yoshihara, Katsuhiro Furukawa. “Physiotherapy management focusing on proprioceptive impairment in a patient with gait and balance impairments following stroke: A case report.” Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 2025. DOI: 10.1080/09593985.2024.2332792
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.