Vol. 65, No. 1, January 2015 69 Introduction The chances of stroke among children are very uncommon. The problems in the blood vessels of the brain and the clots travelling from the heart are thought to be the causes of stroke, but major reasons are still unknown. Loss of speech, fits and paralysis are the main symptoms of stroke in children. When a stroke occurs due to the loss of blood supply to a particular part of the brain, the cells in that area die and those in the surroundings are affected due to reduced blood supply. This causes a permanent damage to that area, reducing its ability to perform normally 1 and it is believed that every two children out of 100,000 all over the world are affected every year. 2 In recent years, stroke has been extensively identified amongst children. The diagnosis and management is difficult due to the excessive risk factors involved and less uniformity in treatment approaches. The type and effects of stroke vary greatly with age and the overall presentation of stroke is quite different in the elders compared to children. In Western countries, 55% of the children and 80-85% of the adults suffer from ischaemic stroke. 3 The Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) (Hold-Relax, Contract-Relax and Agonist Contract) is the technique in which functional therapy approach is used for gradual restoration of patient's motor abilities and is used as one of the methods in post-stroke treatments. 4 The current study was planned to evaluate the effects and significance of PNF exercises on young stroke patients. Patients and Methods The prospective follow-up study was conducted from January to June, 2012, and comprised randomly included patients at the Department of Neurology, Children Hospital and Institute of Child Health, Lahore. It was a time-based study and all patients presenting in the first 3 months aged 0-15 years with weakness of one side of the body were included. Initial data was obtained through questionnaire. Systematic sampling was used to divide the study population into experimental and control groups. All odd-numbered patients were placed in group I and were treated with PNF technique of physical Therapy. All even-numbered patients in group II were treated by passive range of motion (ROM) exercises only. Physiotherapy management included infra-red ORIGINAL ARTICLE Prognosis of stroke in children after three months of regular physical therapy in Lahore Sarah Khalid, 1 Muhammad Salman Bashir, 2 Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah, 3 Rabiya Noor 4 Abstract Objective: To evaluate the effects and significance of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation exercises on stroke patients. Methods: The prospective follow-up study was conducted from January, 2012, to June, 2012, and comprised randomly-selected patients at the Department of Neurology, Children Hospital and Institute of Child Health, Lahore. Using systematic sampling the patients were divided into two groups. Patients in group I were subjected to Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation therapy, while those in group II were treated by passive range of motion exercises only. All patients were followed up at months 1, 2 and 3. Data was collected through a questionnaire, while muscle strength was evaluated through Medical Research Council scale. All date was analysed using SPSS 20. Results: There were 50 patients in the study who were all below 15 years of age. Muscle strength of affected side at baseline in the experimental group I was 2.36±0.49 and in the control group II it was 2.60±0.50. At the end of the three-month follow-up, it had considerably increased to 4.76±0.43 in group I while it was 3.80±0.50 in group II (p<0.0001) Conclusion: Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation technique was an effective method in terms of pain relief, stiffness reduction and functional improvement. Keywords: PNF technique, Stroke, Cerebrovascular accident (CVA), Ischaemic stroke, Haemorrhagic stroke. (JPMA 65: 54; 2015) 1 Children Hospital and Institute of Child Health, 2-4 Riphah College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Riphah International University, Lahore, Pakistan. Correspondence: Muhammad Salman Bashir. Email: chistisalman@yahoo.com