El-Ansary, D; Waddington, G; Adams, R
The authors designed a randomized crossover study to determine whether trunk stabilization exercises reduced sternal separation and pain, and improved the quality and control of various tasks in patients with chronic sternal instability. The participants acted as their own controls. A six week program of trunk stabilization exercises was followed.
Sternal separation and pain were both found to have decreased during the period of trunk stabilization exercises, however overall task performance did not improve significantly. The authors recommend that trunk stabilization exercises should be included in the rehabilitation of individuals who experience sternal instability following cardiac surgery.
Australian Journal of Physiotherapy 2007, 53 (4): 255 – 260