'Bobath – popular but may not be the best for stroke'Ann Holland, clinical specialist physiotherapist, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, shares her response:"Before we consider discarding the Bobath Concept it should be adequately and appropriately tested, especially as there is evidence for the superiority of the Bobath Concept in the domain of balance control (Kollen et al 2009)."Structured rehabilitation programmes are effective in reducing morbidity and improving outcome following stroke (Stroke Unit Trialists' Collaboration 2007). The Bobath Concept is based upon present-day knowledge of motor control, motor learning, neuromuscular plasticity and human functional movement (Raine 2006, Raine 2007, Graham et al 2009) and functional task practice, treadmill training and constraint – induced therapy are integrated within the clinical practice framework.With respect to Kollen et al (2009) this review was limited to RCT level 2 evidence but the studies included were not all of the same level of quality. Other studies at a lower level of evidence such as comparative studies, case series and case presentations may have yielded evidence of a similar quality and therefore could have been included. In many of the studies included there were limitations in the research design, such as low participant numbers (n=6), insufficient data to confirm that groups were comparable at baseline (n=5) and/or lack of blinded assessors (n=5). These limitations, relating to 
methodological quality and to contextual factors investigated, restrict the ability to draw conclusions rather than suggest that there is evidence that interventions based on other approaches are more effective than the Bobath Concept. It is therefore as valid to use the Bobath Concept as other approaches. This is also the conclusion from three other systematic reviews (Paci 2003, Van Peppen et al 2004, Luke et al 2004) where there was once again insufficient evidence to confirm or refute the efficacy of the Bobath Concept compared to other approaches.
methodological quality and to contextual factors investigated, restrict the ability to draw conclusions rather than suggest that there is evidence that interventions based on other approaches are more effective than the Bobath Concept. It is therefore as valid to use the Bobath Concept as other approaches. This is also the conclusion from three other systematic reviews (Paci 2003, Van Peppen et al 2004, Luke et al 2004) where there was once again insufficient evidence to confirm or refute the efficacy of the Bobath Concept compared to other approaches.
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