CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF ADAPTED BOXING AND KICK-/KNEE-STRIKE EXERCISE MODULES IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY NEUROREHABILITATION AND NURSING CARE: SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF TWO PROSPECTIVE STUDIES.

INTRODUCTION

Martial arts-inspired exercise programs are increasingly used as adjuncts to neurorehabilitation for gait and balance impairments.

OBJECTIVE

To perform a descriptive secondary analysis of two martial arts-inspired rehabilitation modules implemented within multidisciplinary inpatient neurorehabilitation and nursing care.

METHODS

A post hoc secondary analysis was conducted using aggregated results from two prospective parallel-group studies (total N = 96). The first study included a mixed cohort of patients with gait impairments, whereas the second included patients with Parkinson's disease after DBS. Group mean values before rehabilitation and two weeks after completion of the rehabilitation course were extracted, and within-study net effects were calculated as the difference between changes in intervention and control groups.

RESULTS

Both exercise modules were associated with improvements in mobility and balance within their respective studies. The net effect for Timed Up and Go (TUG) was 0.5 s for kick-/knee-strike training and 0.7 s for adapted boxing, while for TUG-cognitive it was 0.1-0.2 s. For the Mini-BESTest total score, the net effect was 0.7 points and 1.3 points, respectively. In the adapted boxing study, the Barthel Index showed a net improvement of +2.2 points. Numerical differences between studies were small.

CONCLUSION

Both structured martial arts-inspired rehabilitation modules were associated with small numerical improvements in mobility and balance outcomes within multidisciplinary inpatient neurorehabilitation and nursing care. The findings provide insight into the integration of martial arts-inspired rehabilitation approaches within multidisciplinary neurorehabilitation and nursing care pathways.