Facilitating Exercise Engagement among Community Dwelling Stroke Survivors: Is a once Per Week Group Session Sufficient?

Although exercise is proven as an effective strategy to combat post-stroke complications and the risk of stroke recurrence, many stroke survivors fail to engage in this activity following rehabilitation. In this study, we assessed the feasibility and usefulness of a low-frequency group exercise to d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2019-11, Vol.16 (23), p.4746
Main Authors: Mohd Nordin, Nor Azlin, Yusoff, Nor Asma Husna, Ajit Singh, Devinder Kaur
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Angina
Angina pectoris
Arthritis
Cognitive ability
Developed countries
Developing countries
Exercise Therapy
Falls
Female
Humans
Independent Living
LDCs
Male
Middle Aged
Neurological diseases
Parkinson's disease
Participation
Patients
Polyneuropathy
Program Evaluation
Qualitative Research
Quality of life
Rehabilitation
Stroke
Stroke Rehabilitation - statistics & numerical data
Survival
Survivors
Therapists
Walking
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Summary:Although exercise is proven as an effective strategy to combat post-stroke complications and the risk of stroke recurrence, many stroke survivors fail to engage in this activity following rehabilitation. In this study, we assessed the feasibility and usefulness of a low-frequency group exercise to determine its suitability as an approach to facilitate exercise engagement among stroke survivors. Forty-one stroke survivors, mean (SD) age 59.34 (10.02) years, mean time post-stroke 17.13 (17.58) months, completed a 90 minute, once per week, group exercise supervised by therapists for 12 weeks. The exercise outcomes were measured using standardized clinical tests. We observed improvement in the group's physical performance; balance score by 3 units (Z = -3.88, < 0.001), speed of repetitive sit to stand by 3.4 s (Z = -4.69, < 0.001), and walking speed by 8.22 m/min (Z = -3.25, < 0.001). Scores of seven out of 14 Berg's balance scale items increased significantly, indicating better balance ability among the survivors. In conclusion, a 12-week, once per week group exercise session seems feasible and sufficient to improve the physical performance of community dwelling stroke survivors. This exercise arrangement may be offered to stroke survivors to facilitate exercise practice following rehabilitation.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph16234746