Maximum weight-shifts in sitting in non-ambulatory people with stroke are related to trunk control and balance: a cross-sectional study

•Maximum voluntary weight-shifts poststroke are reduced in all directions•Diagonal weight-shifts are strongly correlated with clinical measures of balance•The preferred side of weight-bearing may influence weight-shifting ability Background:Impaired sitting balance is common in persons with stroke, affecting postural control in different directions. However, studies seldomly investigate sitting balance in severely affected non-ambulatory persons with stroke and precise assessment including the diagonal directions are scarce. Research Question:Are measurements of maximal voluntary weight-shifts decreased in severely affected persons with stroke in comparison to healthy controls, and is there a relationship with clinical measurements of trunk control, sitting and standing balance? Methods:14 Persons with stroke were recruited in the rehabilitation phase along with 32 healthy controls. A clinical pressure platform (RM Ingénierie, France) evaluated the weight-distribution during static sitting and measurements of maximal voluntary weight-shifts, by centre of pressure displacements in six directions. Clinical measurements included Trunk Control Test, Trunk Impairment Scale and Berg Balance Scale. Results:The persons with stroke had a mean (SD) age of 69 (17) years, including 5 females and 9 males and were on average 57 (40) days post stroke. No patient was able to walk without manual support and median (IQR) Berg Balance Scale score was 17 (6-33) out of 56 points. Measurements showed that the centre of pressure distance was significantly smaller in all directions in persons with stroke compared to healthy controls (p