BMD may differ on paretic and nonparetic sides in stroke patients with issues of falls and balance: Study

The inpatient stroke rehabilitation unit of a tertiary university hospital was the subject of this cross-sectional investigation. The primary subjects of the study were hospitalized stroke patients with unilateral hemiplegia. The femoral neck BMD measurement was the main result. BMD was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Functional ambulation classification (FAC), timed up-and-go test (TUGT), Berg balance scale (BBS), and falls efficacy scale-international (FES-I) were examples of secondary outcomes.

A total of 44 patients were enrolled. 50% of the volunteers, or 22, reported falling. The BMD and T-scores of the paretic, nonparetic femoral neck, and lumbar spine did not differ statistically significantly between fallers and non-fallers. Among the fallers, the BBS was considerably lower (p =.033, 95% CI 0.17-19.05). Statistically, the fallers had a considerably greater FES-I.

In the non-fallers (n = 22), there was no significant difference in the BMD and T-scores of the femoral neck between the paretic and nonparetic limbs (p =.908, 95% CI -0.03-0.03; p =.886, 95% CI -0.27-0.24), but there was a difference in the fallers. Overall, this study highlights that hip BMD can vary between paretic and nonparetic sides, particularly in stroke patients who have experienced falls and balance issues in the past. 

Reference:

Atan, T., Ekinci, U., Uran San, A., Demir, Y., Guzelkucuk, U., Kesikburun, S., Uyar Koylu, S., & Tan, A. K. (2024). The relationship between falls and hip bone mineral density of paretic and nonparetic limbs after stroke. In PM&R. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/pmrj.13290