Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients at baseline
| Characteristics | BEAR group | IBT group | CR group | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 18) | (n = 19) | (n = 20) | |||
| Sex, male/female, n | 9/9 | 16/3 | 12/8 | 0.012 | |
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 61.6 (10.1) | 63.1 (10.1) | 69.7 (8.7) | 0.028 | |
| Height, cm, mean (SD) | 162.4 (8.7) | 165.9 (8.3) | 161.6 (11.6) | 0.320 | |
| Weight, kg, mean (SD) | 61.3 (10.7) | 62.8 (12.8) | 60.1 (13.6) | 0.794 | |
| Stroke type, hemorrhage/infarction, n | 7/11 | 12/7 | 11/9 | 0.303 | |
| Affected side, right/left, n | 13/5 | 6/13 | 9/11 | 0.052 | |
| Days from stroke onset, mean (SD) | 55.8 (18.9) | 58.2 (20.1) | 52.2 (18.3) | 0.615 | |
| Mini-BESTest, median (IQR) | 9.5 (12.0) | 14.0 (13.0) | 15.0 (10.5) | 0.883 | |
| SIAS lower limb motor score, median (IQR) | 11.0 (3.0) | 10.0 (3.0) | 12.0 (3.0) | 0.147 | |
| Maximum center of pressure movement, cm, mean (SD) | |||||
| Left–right | 31.2 (7.8) | 32.0 (7.1) | 33.3 (6.2) | 0.659 | |
| Anterior-to-posterior | 12.9 (2.9) | 12.6 (2.3) | 13.3 (3.7) | 0.775 | |
| Lower limb extension torque, Nm/kg, mean (SD) | |||||
| Affected | 0.7 (0.3) | 0.7 (0.5) | 0.8 (0.5) | 0.998 | |
| Non-affected | 1.2 (0.4) | 1.1 (0.5) | 1.1 (0.4) | 0.760 | |
| Lower limb muscle strength, N, mean (SD) | |||||
| Hip flexion | Affected | 110.3 (76.1) | 96.4 (88.5) | 99.3 (66.8) | 0.848 |
| Non-affected | 162.2 (81.6) | 154.6 (77.5) | 137.0 (54.6) | 0.541 | |
| Hip abduction | Affected | 118.7 (59.4) | 100.0 (59.4) | 101.3 (60.1) | 0.572 |
| Non-affected | 138.6 (56.9) | 141.8 (52.5) | 134.3 (57.2) | 0.916 | |
| Knee extension | Affected | 135.7 (99.0) | 117.9 (69.5) | 144.4 (98.2) | 0.647 |
| Non-affected | 228.3 (112.0) | 181.0 (82.2) | 215.0 (95.3) | 0.314 | |
| Knee flexion | Affected | 71.9 (43.0) | 72.8 (55.4) | 78.7 (61.5) | 0.914 |
| Non-affected | 130.0 (40.2) | 130.4 (45.2) | 115.3 (53.4) | 0.531 | |
| Ankle plantarflexion | Affected | 116.9 (85.0) | 80.7 (63.5) | 99.6 (82.0) | 0.370 |
| Non-affected | 176.9 (85.4) | 161.0 (95.9) | 141.7 (82.3) | 0.470 | |
| Ankle dorsiflexion | Affected | 63.3 (44.6) | 68.4 (63.3) | 61.8 (45.5) | 0.917 |
| Non-affected | 98.2 (38.2) | 109.6 (52.8) | 90.3 (36.1) | 0.380 | |
| Timed up and go test, sec, mean (SD) | 18.0 (13.0) | 19.5 (14.6) | 17.4 (15.0) | 0.895 | |
| Functional Ambulation Category, median (IQR) | 3 (2.0) | 3 (2.0) | 4 (1.0) | 0.642 | |
| Falls Efficacy Scale-International, median (IQR) | 26.0 (17.0) | 26.0 (20.0) | 22.0 (11.0) | 0.250 | |
| FIM, motor score, median (IQR) | 67.0 (24.0) | 68.0 (21.0) | 74.0 (14.5) | 0.415 | |
| FIM, cognition score, median (IQR) | 31.5 (8.0) | 32.0 (9.0) | 28.5 (10.5) | 0.926 | |
| FIM, total score, median (IQR) | 98.5 (29.0) | 97.0 (25.0) | 104.0 (19.0) | 0.548 | |
BEAR Balance Exercise Assist Robot; CR conventional rehabilitation; FIM Functional Independence Measure; IBT intensive balance training; IQR interquartile range; Mini-BESTest Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test; SD standard deviation; sec seconds; SIAS Stroke Impairment Assessment Set