Abstract

Purpose: Guillain-Barré syndrome is the cause of acute neuromuscular paralysis in which the peripheral nervous system is damaged. The current study was conducted with the aim to determine the effect of eight-week selected exercises on strength, range of motion and quality of life in patients with Guillen-Barré Syndrome (GBS).
Method: This study is a quasi-experimental research with single group pretest-posttest design. Four cases of patients with Guillen-Barré syndrome (girls and boys aged 6 to 18) were purposefully selected and assigned to one group as the sample of the study. Before and after eight-week selected exercises (exercises with theraband and physioball), the strength, RoM, and QoL were measured using manual dynamometer, manual goniometer, and questionnaire (CBCL), respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS software.
Results: The results of this study showed that following exercises, strength of the ankle (p ≤ 0.05) and knee (p ≤ 0.05) was significantly increased, and no significant changes were observed in the strength of patients' hip (p≥0.05). RoM in ankle joint (p≥0.05), knee (p ≤ 0.05), and hip (p ≤ 0.05) was significantly increased. QoL was increased significantly (p ≤ 0.05) as well.
Conclusion: This study showed that selected exercises (exercises with theraband and physioball), have led to significant improvement in strength, RoM and QoL in children suffering Guillen-Barré Syndrome, so it can be recommended for patients with Guillen-Barré Syndrome.

Keywords: Guillain-Barré Syndrome; Selected exercises; Strength; Range of Motion; Quality of Life; Rehabilitation