The effects of Thai traditional medicine combined with a multidisciplinary team on intermediate care for stroke patients to improve activities of daily living and motor power grading in Mahasarakham Hospital

Abstract

Objective : The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of Thai traditional medicine combined with standard rehabilitation on intermediate care for stroke patients (with hemiparesis and hemiplegia) at Mahasarakham Hospital, focusing on improvements in activities of daily living (ADLs) and motor power grading (MPGs).

Methods : This study utilizes a quasi-experimental, one-group pretest-posttest design to evaluate the effectiveness of Court-type Thai Traditional Massage (60 minutes per session) and hot herbal compression (30 minutes per session) administered once daily, with a minimum frequency of twice per week, combined with standard rehabilitation, in improving ADLs and MPGs in 32 stroke patients. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test.

Result : After the treatment, participants demonstrated a statistically significant increase in average scores for the ability to perform ADLs compared to before the treatment (p<0.05). Additionally, MPGs in both arms and legs increased significantly (p<0.05). The majority of participants reported the highest level of satisfaction regarding overall experience, quality of service, and treatment outcomes, with average satisfaction scores of 4.94±0.25, 4.91±0.30 and 4.47±0.67, respectively. No adverse events were observed.

Conclusion : The integration of Thai traditional medicine with standard rehabilitation has been shown to improve the ability to perform ADLs and increase MPGs in stroke patients. Furthermore, no adverse events were observed, making this treatment approach recommended for all eligible stroke patients.