J Korean Acad Rehabil Med.  2003 Feb;27(1):13-20.

The Bone Mineral Densities in Patients with Hemiplegic Stroke

• Park GY
• Kim JM
• Lee SD
• Jung DK
• Lee IK

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
Stroke patient are prone to fall and, therefore, frequently get fractures, especially at the hip joint of the hemiplegic side, which is often osteoporotic. So osteoporosis in hemiplegic stroke patients is an important clinical problem. The aim of this study was to investigate the mode of the development of osteoporosis in hemiplegic stroke patients and define the relationship between functional status and bone mineral densities (BMDs). METHOD: The subjects were 21 hemiplegic stroke patients, 11 men, 10 women, age 60.3 +/- 8.4 years and 21 age and sex matched controls. We measured BMDs in patients, and compared BMDs of the affected and unaffected sides, and compared BMDs of each affected and unaffected sides with controls, and evaluate the relationship between BMDs with functional parameters. RESULTS: Stroke patients have high prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia, and affected side BMDs of patients were lower in upper and lower limbs compared with the controls. BMDs of the affected side were lower for the upper and lower limbs compared with the unaffected side. CONCLUSION: Stroke patients have high prevalence of osteoporosis. Therefore early rehabilitative care, including weight- bearing and outdoor ambulation, is essential for hemiplegic stroke patients in order to prevent possible complications, especially osteoporotic fractures.

Keyword

Stroke; Hemiplegia; Osteoporosis

MeSH Terms

Bone Density*
Bone Diseases, Metabolic
Female
Hemiplegia
Hip Joint
Humans
Lower Extremity
Male
Osteoporosis
Osteoporotic Fractures
Prevalence
Stroke*
Walking