A patient with left hemiparesis due to stroke who had food leftovers on the left side of the mouth during eating

Abstract

We performed physical therapy for a patient with left hemiparesis due to stroke who had food leftovers on the left side of the mouth during eating. In the sitting position, the patient’s pelvis was tilted backward and rotated left, and there was a left depression, which was restrained owing to hypotonia of the left gluteus maximus muscle. The patient’s body was bent toward the right, which made turning the face to the left side difficult during mealtimes. After physiotherapy for lowering the muscle tone of the left gluteus maximus and restricting the range of motion of the thoracolumbar right-side flexion, the pelvic back tilt, left rotation, lower left restraint, and left trunk flexion were reduced in the sitting position. The patient could now turn the face to the left side, and the amount of food leftovers on the left side of the mouth during mealtimes decreased.