the efficacy of strengthening and stretching by pnf for foot drop in hemiplegia

Objectives: to test the effectiveness of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (pnf) on muscle strength, spasticity, functional mobility, and range of motion (rom) in hemiplegic patients with foot drop.methods: this was a single-arm, pre-post study of 30 adults (21–60 years) with hemiplegic foot drop receiving a 14-week pnf. the interventions included contract-relax stretching, resistance training (d1/d2 diagonal patterns), and functional exercises. the assessed outcomes were muscle strength, spasticity, ankle dorsiflexion rom, and functional mobility.results: following the intervention, all outcomes significantly improved. tibialis anterior (ta) strengthened grade 2 to 3 (p<0.001, r=0.62), and 42% achieved grades 4–5. there were large effect sizes for the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calf muscles (r=0.51–0.62). ta spasticity dropped from grade 3 to 2 (p<0.001, r=0.75), and 68% reached grade ≤2. functional mobility improved by 5.21 cm (p<0.001, r=0.83), and ankle dorsiflexion rom increased by 8.5° (p<0.001, r=0.52).discussion: diagonal patterns and resistance training decrease the degree of spasticity and increase strength and mobility, making it possible to use this pnf type even in comparison to shorter-term protocols. these findings support the use of pnf to address foot drop in stroke rehabilitation.