Vestibular Training on Community Ambulation and Fall Risk in Stroke

NCT07494500 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: NYCU114245AF2
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 40
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Nearly half of individuals with stroke experience limitations in community ambulation, and 35.7% of community-dwelling stroke survivors experienced falls while walking, indicating that falls are common during routine daily activities in community settings. Sensory reweighting refers to the ability to appropriately prioritize and integrate sensory inputs to maintain postural stability. Stroke survivors often demonstrate impaired sensory reweighting, characterized by excessive reliance on visual and proprioceptive cues and insufficient integration of vestibular information. This deficit adversely affects postural control and subsequently compromises gait performance and fall risk .In addition, many individuals with stroke exhibit reduced gaze stability during walking and turning, suggesting potential impairments in the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), a key mechanism for maintaining stable vision during head movement. Insufficient gaze stability has been associated with gait disturbances; therefore, deficits in sensory reweighting and VOR function may contrib-ute to limited community ambulation and increased fall risk. Although previous studies have primarily focused on general balance training, few have directly targeted vestibular input. Thus, the effectiveness of vestibular-specific training for improving community ambulation and reducing fall risk in chronic stroke remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the effects of vestibular training on community ambulation and fall risk in individuals with chronic stroke.

Conditions

Stroke

Keywords

community ambulation; vestibular training; vestibular rehabilitation; fall risk; stroke; dynamic acuity; gait

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Walking Ability Questionnaire

  Using Walking Ability Questionnaire to evaluate community ambulation ability.

  Baseline, 4 weeks after training, and 4-week follow-up

• Community Walking Speed

  Using a timer to measure average walking speed in the community

  Baseline, post-intervention, 4 weeks after training, and 4-week follow-up

• Taiwan Chinese version of the Falls Efficacy Scale

  Using Taiwan Chinese version Falls Efficacy Scale to evaluate fall risk

  Baseline, 4 weeks after training, and 4-week follow-up

Secondary Outcomes (9)

• Functional Gait Assessment

  Baseline, 4 weeks after training, and 4-week follow-up

• Six-minute Walk Test

  Baseline, 4 weeks after training, and 4-week follow-up

• Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test

  Baseline, 4 weeks after training, and 4-week follow-up

• Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale

  Baseline, 4 weeks after training, and 4-week follow-up

• Tinetti Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment

  Baseline, 4 weeks after training, and 4-week follow-up

Study Arms (2)

Vestibular training group

EXPERIMENTAL

The intervention is a 40-minute session and 3 sessions/week, totaling 4 weeks.

Other: Vestibular training

Conventional physical therapy Group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The intervention is a 40-minute session and 3 sessions/week, totaling 4 weeks.

Other: Conventional physical therapy

Interventions

Vestibular training OTHER

Gaze stabilization exercises and balance training under visual and head-movement challenges to stimulate vestibular input and maintain balance.

Also known as: gaze stabilization exercises, vestibular rehabilitation

Vestibular training group

Conventional physical therapy OTHER

Strength, posture, gait, and functional training.

Conventional physical therapy Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 80 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Diagnosis of First-occurrenced stroke
• ≥ 6 months after stroke
• Ability to walk at least 400 meters with or without the use of a walking assistive device
• Mini-Mental State Examination score ≥ 24
• Age between 18 and 80 years

You may not qualify if:

• Other neurological or musculoskeletal conditions affected postural stability
• Presence of dizziness or vertigo
• Presence of conditions affecting cervical blood flow or limiting cervical range of motion
• Visual impairment
• Unstable cardiac status or uncontrolled hypertension

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Department of Physical Therapy and Assistive Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

Taipei, 112, Taiwan

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Stroke

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Cerebrovascular Disorders; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases

Central Study Contacts

Yea-Ru Yang, PhD

CONTACT

+886228267279; yryang@nycu.edu.tw

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 20, 2026
• First Posted: March 27, 2026
• Study Start: April 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 31, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 31, 2028
• Last Updated: March 27, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Locations

TW (1)