Article Text
Abstract
Introduction Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) is a widely used rehabilitation concept, although its efficacy has not yet been demonstrated in stroke survivors. The aim of this systematic review is to identify, assess and synthesise the potential benefits of using PNF to improve the activities of daily living (ADL) and quality of life (QoL) of individuals with stroke.
Methods and analysis A systematic electronic search will be conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL and PEDro. We will include randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials of PNF interventions conducted in stroke survivors up to April 2017. Two review authors will independently select relevant studies and will extract data using the Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions approach and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P). The methodological quality will be assessed by using the PEDro scale. Finally, with the permitted numeric data, we will carry out a meta-analysis.
Ethics and dissemination Ethical considerations will not be required. Results will be disseminated in a peer-review journal. This systematic review aims to examine the effects of PNF (neurophysiological approach) in order to clarify its efficacy in improving ADL and QoL in the rehabilitation process of stroke survivors.
PROSPERO registration number CRD42016039135.
- proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation
- pnf
- kabat
- Quality of life
- activities of daily life
- stroke
This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Statistics from Altmetric.com
Footnotes
Contributors FXGT conceived, designed and co-ordinated the protocol review. He registered the protocol review in the Prospero database, wrote the protocol review, provided a clinical perspective and commented on drafts of the protocol review, and contributed to and approved the final manuscript of the protocol review. RCV provided a clinical perspective, especially to the PNF method. She contributes to the outcome assessment and commented on drafts of the protocol review, and contributed to and approved the final manuscript of the protocol review. MSR conceived and designed the review. She provided a methodological perspective and she wrote the manuscript and commented on drafts of the protocol review, and contributed to and approved the final manuscript of the protocol review. GU provided a methodological perspective, commented on drafts of the protocol review, and contributed to and approved the final manuscript of the protocol review. NGT provided a clinical perspective, especially to the assessment outcomes. She wrote the manuscript and commented on drafts of the protocol review, and contributed to and approved the final manuscript of the protocol review.
Funding This paper will be supported by the College of Physiotherapists of Catalonia, through a scholarship granted to Natàlia Gómara-Toldrà (Identification number: 43981/2015), and by the Iberoamerican Cochrane Center.
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.