Abstract: ObjectiveTo observe the effect of early partial body weight support on walking ability for stroke patients with hemiplegia.Methods60 stroke patients were divided into 3 groups, receiving conventional early rehabilitation: group A (20 cases) received conventional rehabilitation for 8 weeks; group B (20 cases) received 2 weeks conventional rehabilitaion and 6 weeks partial body weight support; group C (20 cases) received 5 weeks conventional rehabilitaion and 3 weeks partial body weight support. Fugl-Meyer Assessment(FMA), Barther Index(BI) and Berg Balance Scale(BBS) were used to assess the effect before and after treatment.ResultsThe socres of FMA, BI and BBS improved in walking function after the treatment(P<0.05). Comparing with groups A and C, group B improved more significantly after treatment (P<0.05), and group C was better than group A (P<0.05). ConclusionPartial body weight support can improve walking function of hemiplegic patients at early stage.

Key words: early intervention, partial body weight support, hemiplegia, stroke, walking function