Abstract
“Bridging” is a commonly prescribed exercise in the physical therapy for hemiplegics. However, there have been very few studies that evaluated “bridging” objectively. By measuring the weight exerted by each foot using a weight scale, we studied “bridging” quantitatively in 40 hemiplegics. The results are as follows.
1) A significant increase of weight under the affected foot while bridging was observed in patients with Brunnstrom stage of lower extremity above four.
2) The degree of increase of weight was positively correlated with Brunnstrom stage of lower extremity.
Our results suggested that changes of weight exerted by the affected foot while bridging could be used as an index of motor recovery.
