Home-based Exercises for Patients With Stroke

August 24, 2012 updated by: Maria Elisa Pimentel Piemonte, University of Sao Paulo General Hospital

The aim of this study is the development and the implementation of a new protocol about home-based exercises, supported by an illustrated manual, for the treatment of individuals with stroke.

The hypothesis is that this group of patients who are going to carry out the training of this study protocol are going to show improvement in measured parameters (functionality and physical performance), which allows this protocol to be improved and published as a proposal of physiotherapeutic treatment.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

  1. Program Development: 27 exercises were selected, based on the most frequent motor alterations present in hemiparesis. Three modes were created for each exercise: assisted active, active and resisted active executions. Besides explanatory text, there were illustrative photos for all exercises and their modes.
  2. Program Execution: All groups were submitted to a motor evaluation utilizing the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) and functional evaluation utilizing the Functional independence measure (FIM). After assessment, for the patients of the home-based exercise group (HBG) a group of home exercises was selected for each patient; these exercises were explained and performed one by one. The home-exercises were re-executed at each fortnightly visit, when any necessary correction was made. The next steps stipulated by the manual were taken, providing the patients with more complex exercises according to their progress. The patients in the supervised exercise training group (SEG) participated in supervised individual exercise sessions two times per week. A physical therapist supervised these sessions. Exercise sessions included: 30 minutes of global exercises that involved stretching, range of motion, muscle strengthen and another 30 minutes of functional training (gait, balance and use of the arm in daily activities).The control group (CG) was assessed but reluctant or unable to regularly attend a supervised exercise program. The groups were reassessed after six months.
  3. Program assessment: The Fugl-Meyer Assessment score and the Functional independence measure score, measured at baseline and after six months, were compared between the groups.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

90

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

      • São Paulo, Brazil, 05360-000
        • Department of Physical therapy, Medicine School of University of São Paulo

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of stroke, confirmed by clinical and radiological evidence
  • Ability to understand and follow commands
  • willing and able to regularly attend a supervised exercise program

Exclusion Criteria:

  • severe cognitive impairment
  • Commodity that preclude them from undergoing training and assessment
  • Neurological disease other than stroke

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: home-based group
Participants in the home-based group (HBG) were advised to exercise, a minimum of 4 times per week, but they were encouraged to exercise a total of 5-7 days per week. After individual assessment, a group of home-exercise selected of the manual was explained and performed one by one. The home-exercises were re-executed at each fortnightly visit, when necessary corrections were made and the next step stipulated by manual was taken, according to the patient's progress.
Other Names:
  • Home-based exercise supported by an illustrated manual
Active Comparator: supervised exercise group
Patients in the supervised exercise training group (SEG) participated in supervised individual exercise sessions 2 times per week. A physical therapist supervised these sessions. Exercise sessions included: 30 minutes of global exercises that involved stretching, range of motion, muscle strengthen and another 30 minutes of functional training (gait, balance and use of the arm in daily activities).
Other Names:
  • Conventional supervised exercise training
No Intervention: control
Control group:no intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Functional Independence Measure
Time Frame: 6 months
Functional Independence Measure (FIM) it is an 18-item ordinal scale with seven levels ranging from 1 (total dependence) to 7 (total independence).FIM can be subdivided into a 13-item motor subscale (eating, grooming, bathing, dressing upper body, dressing lower body, personal hygiene, bladder control, bowel control, transfer to tub/shower, walk or wheelchair, stairs) and 5-item cognitive subscale (comprehension, expression, social interaction, problem solving, memory).The motor and cognitive sub-scales scores range from 13 to 91(motor-FIM) and from 5 to 35 (cognitive-FIM). The maximum total score is 126.
6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
motor performance, Fugl-Meyer scale
Time Frame: 6 months
The Fugl-Meyer physical performance scale assesses five dimensions of impairment, including three aspects of motor control, such as the amplitude of joint movement, pain, sensitivity, motor impairment of the upper and lower extremities and balance. The data are scored in an ordinal scale of 3 (0=no performance; 2=complete performance) applied to each item7. The total motor score is equal to the classification of the upper limb (UL) plus the lower limb (LL), corresponding to 100 total scores (UL=66, LL=34). The total FM score, including the other items, corresponds to 226 scores in the final sum.
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Study Director: Maria Elisa P Piemonte, Department of Physical therapy,School of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo
  • Principal Investigator: Tatiana P Oliveira, Department of Physical therapy, School of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

January 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2011

Study Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 13, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 24, 2012

First Posted (Estimate)

August 28, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

August 28, 2012

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 24, 2012

Last Verified

August 1, 2012

More Information

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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