[Effectiveness of group physiotherapy on motor function in elderly stroke patients]

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of group physiotherapy with special emphasis on motor function of the elderly stroke patients. The sample comprised sixteen persons who had survived a stroke and who lived at home. The sample was treated by using group physiotherapy weekly and ten times altogether. The patients' motor function were assessed before and after the intervention programme with a chart for assessing motor capacity. In addition, each patient was interviewed regarding his or her usual activity, health and life situation. Mainly descriptive statistical methods were used, e.g medians, lower and upper quartiles. The outcome of the study shows that group physiotherapy has effectiveness to maintain and in some respects also to improve basic motor function. It seems that survivors need and also get different kind of rehabilitation and care to minimize their motor impairment and to maintain their functional capacity.