COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF BALANCE TRAINING EXERCISES AND YOGA THERAPY ON BALANCE AND COORDINATION AMONG HEMIPLEGIC POST-STROKE PATIENTS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Abstract

Stroke remains one of the leading causes of long-term disability, often resulting in impaired balance, reduced mobility, poor coordination, and increased risk of falls among survivors. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of balance training exercises and yoga therapy in improving balance and coordination among hemiplegic post-stroke patients. A randomized controlled trial was conducted among 66 post-stroke hemiplegic patients who were randomly allocated into two groups: Group A received balance training exercises, while Group B received yoga therapy. Both groups participated in a structured six-week rehabilitation program consisting of four supervised sessions per week. Balance and functional mobility were assessed using the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Timed Up and Go (TUG) test before and after intervention. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) after assessing residual normality.

The findings demonstrated significant improvements in both intervention groups; however, balance training produced superior outcomes. The adjusted post-intervention BBS mean was higher in the balance training group (51.357) compared with the yoga therapy group (50.098), showing a statistically significant difference (F=4.117, p=0.047, partial η²=0.061). Similarly, the TUG test showed greater improvement in the balance training group, with a lower adjusted mean completion time (8.701 seconds) compared with yoga therapy (10.087 seconds) (F=37.169, p<0.001, partial η²=0.371). These findings indicate that task-specific balance exercises may provide greater improvement in dynamic balance and functional mobility compared with yoga therapy. However, yoga therapy also demonstrated beneficial effects and may serve as a complementary rehabilitation approach.