Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 17, 2026
Motor Imagery Brain-Computer Interface in Rehabilitation of Upper Limb Motor Dysfunction After Stroke
Published on: September 1, 2023
Effects of motor imagery training on balance and gait abilities in post-stroke patients: a randomized controlled
Hwi-young Cho1, June-sun Kim, Gyu-Chang Lee
1Department of Physical Therapy, Korea University, College of Health Science, Seoul, South Korea.
Objectives:
To investigate the effects of motor imagery training on the balance and gait abilities of post-stroke patients.
Design:
Randomized controlled trial.
Setting:
Outpatient rehabilitation centre.
Subjects:
Twenty-eight individuals with chronic stroke.
Interventions:
The experimental group (n = 15) performed motor imagery training involving imagining normal gait movement for 15 minutes embedded in gait training for 30 minutes (45 minutes/day, 3 times/week); the control group (n = 13) performed gait training only (30 minutes/day, 3 times/week).
Main Measures:
Balance and gait abilities were measured by the Functional Reach Test, Timed Up-and-Go Test, 10-m Walk Test and Fugl-Meyer assessment before and after interventions.
Results:
All measurements improved significantly compared with baseline values in the experimental group. In the control group, there were significant improvements in all parameters except the Fugl-Meyer assessment. All parameters of the experimental group increased significantly compared to those of the control group as follows: Functional Reach Test (control vs. experimental: 28.1 ± 3.1 vs. 37.51 ± 3.0), Timed Up-and-Go Test (20.7 ± 4.0 vs. 13.2 ± 2.2), 10-m Walk Test (17.4 ± 4.6 vs. 16.0 ± 2.7) and Fugl-Meyer assessment (12.0 ± 2.9 vs. 17.6 ± 1.3).
Conclusions:
Gait training with motor imagery training improves the balance and gait abilities of chronic stroke patients significantly better than gait training alone.
