Stiff-person syndrome (SPS) is a rare neurological disorder that causes muscle rigidity and stiffness of the trunk and proximal limb muscles, leading to movement difficulties and impaired function. Due to the rarity of the disease, studies on the benefit of rehabilitation for this disorder are quite limited. A 46-year-old female patient diagnosed with SPS complained of imbalance and movement difficulty. We prescribed therapeutic exercises aimed to reduce the stiffness of the trunk and proximal limbs and improve her function. Baseline measurement of the patient's range of motion, muscle power and tone, balance and functional abilities were taken pre- and post-program. Outcome measures showed a general improvement in the patient's muscle flexibility, balance, and functionality.
Keywords: SPS; physical therapy; rehabilitation; stiff-person syndrome.
Association for Helping Neurosurgical Sick People. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.