Background: Hemispatial neglect is defined as the failure to attend, report, respond, or orient toward meaningful stimuli provided in the contralateral side of a brain lesion. Objects: This study was conducted to find out the effect of dynamic trunk equilibirum exercise for stroke patients with hemi-spatial neglect. Methods: This study included 21 stroke subjects, randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. The exercise program consisted of 5 sessions of 20 minutes per week during 4 weeks. The line-bisection test, the Albert test, the balance function score, the Berg balance scale, the postural assessment scale for stroke and the modified Barthel index were measured before and after training. All data were analyzed using SPSS 12.0 for Windows. Between-group and within-group comparison was analyzed by using Independent t-test and Paired t-test respectively. Results: The results of study were as follows: There were significant differences between before and after intervention in both group (p<.05). There were significant differences in the line-bisection test, Albert test, balance function score, Berg balance scale, postural assessment scale for stroke and modified Barthel index between the experimental group and the control group (p<.05). Conclusion: Dynamic trunk equilibrium exercise had a positive effect on patients’ neglect, balance ability and activities of daily living. Further studies are required to generalize the results of this study.

Background: Patients with chronic stroke often shows decreased trunk muscle activity and trunk performance. To resolve these problems, many trunk stabilizing techniques including the abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM) and the diaphragmatic breathing maneuver (DBM) are used to improve trunk muscle strength. Objects: To compare the effects of the ADIM and the DBM on abdominal muscle thickness, trunk control, and balance in patients with chronic stroke. Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial. Nineteen patients were randomly allocated to the ADIM (n1=10) and DBM (n2=9) groups. The ADIM and DBM techniques were performed three times per week for 4 weeks. The thicknesses of the transversus abdominis (TrA), internal oblique muscle, and external oblique muscles on the paretic and non-paretic sides, Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS) score, and Berg Balance Scale (BBS) score were used to assess changes in motor development after 4 weeks of training. Results: After the training periods, the TrA thickness on the paretic side, TIS score, and BBS score improved significantly in both groups compared to baseline (p<.05). TIS score was significantly greater in the DBM group than in the ADIM group (p<.05). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that ADIM and DBM are beneficial for improving TrA muscle thickness in the paretic side, trunk control, and balance ability. Intergroup comparison revealed that TIS score was significantly improved in the DBM group versus the ADIM group. Thus, DBM may be an effective treatment for low trunk muscle activity and performance in patients with chronic stroke.