| The effect of TheraBand strengthening exercises and neuromuscular facilitation on position sense in patients with multiple sclerosis |
| Paper ID : 1731-SPORTCONGRESS |
| Authors |
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Golnaz Ahmadi Hekmati kar1, Zahra Raghi *1, Negar Kooroshfard2, Hoda Kamali3 1Department of Sports Sciences, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran. 2Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Shiraz, Shiraz, Iran. 3Neuroscience Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. |
| Abstract |
| Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and often disabling neurological disorder (Guo et al., 2025). In MS patients, muscle strength deficits are much more common in the lower-extremity than in the upper-extremity (Ramari et al., 2020). Proprioception, is important in maintaining balance (Maden et al., 2024). Also, gait disorders and falls, which are the most important complaints of MS patients, are related to lower sense of position (Ghotbi et al., 2019). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of TheraBand exercises and neuromuscular facilitation on position sense in patients with MS. Methods: This study was quasi-experimental. 30 female patients with MS, aged 33 to 51 years, were randomly assigned to three groups: neuromuscular facilitation (n=10), TheraBand (n=10), and control (n=10). Neuromuscular facilitation exercises were performed using the Rhythmic initiation technique and with an intensity of 3-5 on the Borg scale. TheraBand exercises began with red color and ended with blue in the final sessions. The exercise protocol was implemented for 4 weeks, 2 sessions per week. The control group did not participate in any intervention. Position sense was measured at 20 degrees of internal rotation of the hip joint using a goniometer and photographic methods in pre-test and post-test. One-way ANOVA was used for analysis. The alpha was set 0.05. Results: The position sense of hip internal rotation improved significantly after 4 weeks of neuromuscular facilitation strengthening exercises compared to the control group (P=0.01). However, no significant difference was observed between the TheraBand and control groups in improving hip internal rotation position sense (P=0.11). Conclusion: Neuromuscular facilitation exercises, in a short period of time (4 weeks), can be an effective treatment to improve hip joint position sense in patients with MS. Therefore, these exercises are recommended for these patients. Keywords: Neuromuscular Facilitation, Position Sense, TheraBand |
| Keywords |
| Neuromuscular Facilitation, Position Sense, TheraBand |
| Status: Abstract Accepted (Poster Presentation) |
