Does rhythmic auditory stimulation compared to no rhythmic auditory stimulation improve patient’s static and dynamic standing balance post stroke?

Abstract

Background: Rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) uses music or a metronome to stimulate the audio-motor pathway in the brain. This type of stimulation uses external auditory cueing to try to create movement that is rhythmical. This has been shown to improve gait. This systematic review seeks to determine if the same benefits are seen in static and dynamic standing balance.

Methods: Four researchers conducted an online search of Cochrane, Pubmed, Europe PMC, and J Stage on December 10^th and December 11^th, 2018. Each researcher assessed all abstracts and were then paired and assigned to each qualifying article. Quality of the selected articles was scored with two tools. Each article was summarized and the results were discussed. We screened 38 abstracts and 5 articles were used to conduct this systematic review.

Results: Statistically significant results were shown in at least one objective measure in each of the five selected studies. Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation showed improvement with a P value less than .05 in patients post stroke within the past 2 years.

Conclusions: Using RAS showed improvement in balance when compared to a control group in patients after experiencing a stroke. These findings can greatly assist clinicians when searching for the most effective interventions for patients after stroke who are experiencing difficulty with balance and gait. More research is needed to determine the long-term effects of RAS treatment using larger sample sizes and in the acute and subacute time frames of patients post-stroke.

Keywords:

• RAS
• auditory timing
• dynamic balance

Disclosure statement

No author participating in this systematic review have any financial, commercial, or any relationships with any institution that would influence or bias any of the outcomes of the research listed above.

Figure 1. PRISMA flow chart of search process for accepted articles [13].

Notes on contributors

Kathryn Pfeiffer is a graduate student pursuing her doctorate degree in physical therapy at Franklin Pierce Universityin Manchester, NH. She received a double bachelor's degree in Kinesiology and Dietetics at the University of Rhode Island in 2016-2017. Her research interests include rehabilitation of neurological disorders and diseases as well as nutritional therapies on rehabilitation outcomes.

Jacob Clements is a graduate student pursuing his doctorate degree in physical therapy at Franklin Pierce University in Manchester NH.

McKayla Smith is a graduate student pursing her doctorate degree in physical therapy at Franklin Pierce University in Manchester, NH. She received her bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences at Colorado State University in 2016.

Matthew Gregoire is a graduate student pursing his doctorate degree in physical therapy at Franklin Pierce University in Manchester, NH.

Christopher Conti is a Doctor of Physical Therapy. He works for the Southcoast Hospitals Group in Massachusetts. He earned his DPT from Franklin Pierce University in 2017.

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