What happened?
A 72-year-old man presented with three days of right-sided weakness and difficulty seeing on his right side. Investigations identified an acute infarct in the left posterior cerebral artery territory involving the medial temporal and occipital regions, thalamus and splenium of the corpus callosum. Physiotherapy assessment identified right hemiparesis and homonymous hemianopia.
Clinical findings
- Right-sided weakness and right-sided visual-field difficulty were present at presentation.
- Imaging identified an acute left posterior cerebral artery territory infarct involving the medial temporal lobe, medial occipital lobe, left thalamus and splenium of the corpus callosum.
- The report describes visual-field loss together with hemiparesis and impaired dynamic balance.
Rehabilitation described in the report
- The authors described a six-week physiotherapy programme combining visual restoration exercises with balance training.
- Balance activities included tandem standing and single-leg standing, alongside interventions addressing hemiparesis and dynamic balance.
- The intervention was individualized to the reported visual and motor impairments.
Reported outcomes
- The authors reported improvement in visual-field symptoms following the early rehabilitation programme.
- The report describes a favorable individual outcome; exact assessment details and the intervention schedule are available in the original paper.
Clinical lessons to consider
- The case illustrates that post-stroke assessment may need to address visual-field deficits as well as limb weakness and balance.
- The paper combined visual rehabilitation with balance-focused physiotherapy rather than treating the presentation as a motor-only problem.
Limitations — what this case cannot tell us
- This is a single case report and cannot establish that physiotherapy alone caused the visual recovery.
- Spontaneous neurological recovery and other aspects of stroke care may contribute to observed change.
Original source
Abhishek Abhinandan, Sneha Chakraverty, Sonali Soumyashree, Dushyant Bawiskar. “Impact of early physiotherapy intervention in managing homonymous hemianopia due to posterior cerebral artery infarct—a case report.” Bulletin of Faculty of Physical Therapy, 2024. DOI: 10.1186/s43161-024-00180-z
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.