Relationship between Trunk Impairment and Upper Extremity Function, and Its Impact on Activities of Daily Living in Chronic Stroke Survivors

Background: Stroke often leads to significant impairment of trunk and upper extremity functions, which is associated with decreased quality of life and functional performance in all domains. Trunk stability and control is considered to be a prerequisite for upper extremity function in stroke survivors. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the relationship between trunk impairment and upper extremity function in stroke survivors which may help in improving their ADL’s by giving proper treatment. Methods: 20 chronic stroke survivors with age group between 40 – 80 years were included in this study. Trunk impairment, upper extremity function and activities of daily living of all the participants were determined using trunk impairment scale, Chedoke arm and hand activity inventory scale (version 8) and functional independence measure – motor scoring scale. Results: Using Karl Pearson’s Correlation coefficient, moderate positive correlation was observed between TIS and CAHAI-8. Strong positive correlation was noted between TIS and FIM-M, whereas, moderate positive correlation was noted between CAHAI-8 and FIM-M which was found to be highly statistically significant. Conclusion: Our study concludes that, a moderate positive correlation exists between trunk impairment and upper extremity function in chronic stroke survivors. The study also reveals that, both trunk impairment and upper extremity function has strong and moderate correlation on their activities of daily living. Keywords: Stroke, trunk function, paretic arm, functional performance, stroke rehabilitation.