Better balance: a randomised controlled trial of oculomotor and gaze stability exercises to reduce risk of falling after stroke

Objective: To assess the effect of a domiciliary program of oculomotor and gaze stability exercises on the incidence of falls and risk of fall in stroke survivors. Design: Two-arm, non-blinded parallel randomized controlled trial. Subjects: Stroke survivors older than 60 years, with positive Romberg test and autonomous gait after the stroke. Setting: Physiotherapy outpatient clinic of a tertiary care hospital. Interventions: Every participant accomplished the current rehabilitation program; the intervention group was randomly allocated into an additional three weeks intervention with a domiciliary program of oculomotor and gaze stability exercises. Main measures: Primary outcome was the incidence of falls through the three weeks after the intervention started; in addition, the variation of the estimated risk for falling assessed by both Berg Balance Scale (four points) and Timed Up and Go Test (four seconds) was the secondary outcome. Results: 79 patients were recruited and 68 completed the protocol (control group 35; intervention group 33). During the follow up, falls were registered in 4/35 participants in the control group and no event occurred in the intervention group (P= 0.064). The estimated risk for falling decreased in 11/35 control group participants and in 28/33 intervention group participants (RR 0.37; 95%CI 0.22-0.62;P< 0.001). Conclusion: After three weeks of a domiciliary program of oculomotor and gaze stability exercises, the estimated risk of falling significantly diminished and no falls occurred among the intervention group. These findings encourage further exploration of this promising intervention.