Physiotherapy in Order to Improve Walking Capacity and Participation in Chronic Stroke Subjects

August 27, 2020 updated by: M Luz Sanchez, University of Valencia

Two Different Physiotherapy Programs in Order to Improve Walking Capacity and Participation in Chronic Stroke Subjects

In hemiplegic stroke patients, gait performance is affected by impaired walking endurance. Evidence has shown that higher exercise intensity improves cardiovascular fitness, while greater dose in task repetition benefits locomotor function. Therefore, the goal of this study is to examine the effect of a combined cardiovascular/task-oriented interval training programme on the walking capacity of chronic stroke individuals and the improvement in their participation.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Owing to the high prevalence of disability in stroke older adults, walking capacity and participation can be severely affected. According to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health 2001, participation involves functioning in life. In Rehabilitation Medicine, there has been a growing concern about it as a way to assess success of treatment. However, appraisal of participation in stroke research is scarce.

In all stages after a stroke, Physiotherapy interventions in favor of intensive high repetitive task-oriented and task-specific training have obtained benefits on trained actions and activities. But, the effect of this type of treatment on the impact the disease has on patient´s participation is under investigated.

The aim of this study was to determine which kind of physiotherapy task-oriented training program could better improve participation in chronic stroke subjects: an upper limb strength training program (ULST) or a combined cardiovascular/task-oriented interval training (IT) program.

Therefore, the goal of this study is to examine the effect of a combined cardiovascular/task-oriented interval training programme on the walking capacity of chronic stroke individuals and the improvement in their participation.

A randomized single-blind controlled trial was carried out. Fourteen subjects with chronic hemiplegia resulting from stroke (onset >6m) were recruited. All participants were fully informed about the experimental procedures and the aim of the study. Written informed consent was signed by each subject prior to participate. Approval from the ethics committee of the University of Valencia was obtained for the study.

Subjects were randomly allocated to an ULST program with elastic bands (n=7) or to a cardiovascular/task-oriented IT program (n=7), focused on walking capacity. In the ULST group, a nine 5-minute station circuit session was designed. Patients work 2+2 minutes in each exercise, with a 30-second rest between the 2-minute periods and between stations. The IT program consisted of a set of 8 cardiovascular exercises at moderate intensity, interrupted by 1-minute active breaks of task-oriented exercises. Duration of both programmes was 3 months (3 sessions/week).

Participation was assessed by the Stroke Impact Scale (SIS-16) and the Frenchay Activities Index (FAI), before and after the intervention.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

15

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

  • Spain
      • Valencia, Spain, 46010
        • University of Valencia

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 and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • More than 6 months after first stroke

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Functional disability not related to the aftermath of stroke
  • Participate in other rehabilitation programs

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: Cardiovascular/task-oriented training
8 cardiovascular exercises at moderate intensity, interrupted by 1-minute active breaks of task-oriented exercises.
Other: Cardiovascular and task-oriented training
Active Comparator: Upper limb strength training program
Nine 5-minute station circuit session. Patients work 2+2 minutes in each exercise, with a 30-second rest between the 2-minute periods and between stations.
Other: Upper limb strength training program

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Participation (Frenchay Activities Index (FAI))
Time Frame: At 3 months
Frenchay Activities Index (FAI)
At 3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Walking ability
Time Frame: At 3 months
6 min-walk
At 3 months
Upper limb function (Fugl-Meyer Assessment)
Time Frame: At 3 months
Fugl-Meyer Assessment
At 3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Valencia

Collaborators

Nueva Opción Brain Damage Association

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Sánchez-Sánchez ML, University of Valencia

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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

September 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

December 30, 2015

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 3, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 4, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

September 7, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 28, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 27, 2020

Last Verified

August 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Stroke_Project_15

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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