None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Evidence supports the use of progressive strengthening, functional training, and aerobic exercise in stroke rehabilitation, with improvements noted even when patients are more than 6 months after stroke. However, limitations of current studies are that the main outcomes are measured in a clinical environment, which may not relate to a change in usual activity in an individual’s usual environment. Recently activity monitors have been introduced as a way to measure walking during usual activity and for longer periods. Although it is known that rehabilitation exercise programmes can improve strength, walking speed and endurance and balance following stroke, it is not known whether this translates into the change in the amount or speed of walking that an individual does in their home or community environments. This study aims to look at the effects of a group exercise programme to see if it changes walking (as measured by an activity monitor) in home and community environments as well as walking as it is usually measured (with tests in a physiotherapy clinic).
Interventions
Experimental group: 12 1-hour sessions (3 times a week for 4 weeks) of circuit exercise programme consisting of strengthening and functional exercises graded according to individual ability. The exercises include sit to stand, single leg stance, step ups, tandem walk, swiss ball squats, standing hamstring curl, tandem stance, calf raise, backwards walk, lunges, self sway, walking around cones, obstacles, different surfaces, side leg lifts, marching in place and sitting and reaching.
The duratio
Experimental group: 12 1-hour sessions (3 times a week for 4 weeks) of circuit exercise programme consisting of strengthening and functional exercises graded according to individual ability. The exercises include sit to stand, single leg stance, step ups, tandem walk, swiss ball squats, standing hamstring curl, tandem stance, calf raise, backwards walk, lunges, self sway, walking around cones, obstacles, different surfaces, side leg lifts, marching in place and sitting and reaching. The duration from entry to exit from the study will be five months.
Sponsors
Department of Surgery, University of Auckland
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: Criteria for inclusion in the study are adults who are at least six months post stroke, have been discharged from rehabilitation services, live in the community and have medical clearance to participate in an exercise programme. All participants will be able to walk independently (with assistive devices as necessary) but will still with some difficulty with walking as confirmed by the physical functioning scale of the Short Form 36 (SF36).
Exclusion criteria
Participants will be excluded if they have progressive neurological disease, other significant health problems that adversely affect walking ability, more than 2 falls in the previous 6 months, unstable cardiac conditions, uncontrolled hypertension or congestive heart failure. Participants will be excluded if their initial gait speed is greater than 1 m/s, which is within 10% of the normal range for healthy older adults.
Outcome results
None listed