INTRODUCTION: Stroke is a leading cause of hospitalization and mortality, causing some type of disability in approximately 90% of survivors, whether partial or total. The functional impairment varies from one individual to the other and the performance skills of activities of daily living (ADLs) are strongly affected. OBJECTIVES: To assess the functional independence of individuals in the chronic phase after stroke and to determine its relation with the treatment by physiotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample consisted of 69 chronic hemiparetic individuals with a mean age of 64-65 years old. In order to evaluate the functionality, the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) was used and the floor and ceiling effects were determined. Statistical analysis included the normality test of Kolmogorov-Smirnov, mean and standard deviation and the Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS: According to the FIM motor domain, the item "sphincter control (feces)" had the highest number of individuals performing totally independently (88.4%) and the item "going up and down the stairs" showed the lowest scores. All items in the cognitive domain had means higher than 6.4 points. Ceiling effect for both motor and cognitive areas was found. Only the transfer dimension differed significantly between those who did and those who did not do physical therapy (p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Overall, there was no relation between functional independence and physical therapy. However, the ceiling effect may have influenced the results, suggesting MIF restriction in discriminating the evaluated individuals.
Stroke; Functional independence measure; Physiotherapy
