Relationship between independent sitting balance and side of hemiparesis

We conducted a retrospective chart audit of initial physical therapy evaluations to determine the incidence of sitting imbalance and its relationship to the side of weakness in hemiparetic patients. A review of the records of 105 patients revealed that the left side was predominantly affected in 52 patients and the right side in 53 patients. Age, time since onset, and proportion of men and women did not differ between the left and right hemiparetic patients. Most patients (81.0%) could sit independently, but 32.7% of those with left-sided weakness and 5.7% of those with right-sided weakness could not. A chi-square analysis revealed a significant relationship between the side of weakness and independent sitting balance (p less than .001). The phi-square test revealed the strength of this relationship to be .12. Patients with left hemiparesis are more likely to have difficulty with independent sitting than patients with right hemiparesis, which may affect their progress in rehabilitation.