A Community-Based Fitness and Mobility Exercise Program
for Older Adults with Chronic Stroke Trial.
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Status:
Completed. Published in 2005.
Purpose:
To examine the effects of a community-based group exercise program for older individuals with chronic stroke.
Year Presented:
2005
Design:
Prospective, single-blind, randomized, controlled intervention trial.
Inclusion Criteria
Patients with a single stroke more than 1 year before, who were able to walk more than 10m independently (with or without walking aids), living at home, funcional classification level of American Heart Association Stroke Outcome Classification, ability to pedal a cycle ergometer, and a score greater than 22 on the Mini-Mental State Examination.
Exclusion Criteria
Patients with a history of serious cardiac disease (e.g., myocardial infarction), uncontrolled blood pressure (systolic blood pressure >140, diastolic blood pressure >90), pain while walking, neurological conditions in addition to stroke, and other serious diseases that precluded the individual from participating in the study.
Patient Involvement:
Participants were brought into the laboratory for further screeening, and those who passed were randomly assigned to either the treatment (FAME group) or the control group. Both groups underwent an exercise program for 19 weeks of 1-hour sessions, three sessions per week, in the same multipurpose room of a community hall, but they exercised at different times of the day.
The FAME group received aerobic exercise for 10 min., increasing 5 min. every week up to 30 min. continuous with increments of intensity of 10% every 4 weeks. They also received mobility and balance exercising of different forms of walking, standing and kicking. Lastly, they performed leg muscle exercises.
The control group performed resistance exercises with increasing strength of bands and sets, up to 3 sets of 15. Elbow/wrist muscle strength and range of motion exercises were performed, and hand muscle strengthening exercises were performed for 10-15 minutes.
Primary Outcome:
Cardiorespiratory fitness (maximal oxygen consumption), mobility (6-minute walk test), leg muscle strength (isometric knee extension), balance (Berg Balance Scale), activity and participation (Physical Activity Scale for Individuals with Physical Disabilities), and femoral neck BMD (using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry).
Results:
The FAME group appears to be beneficial for improving some of the physical activity problems in older adults living with stroke. Cardiorespiratory fitness, mobility, and paretic leg muscle strength had significant gains over the controls, while the femoral neck BMD was maintained in the intervention group, but declined significantly in the control group. There was no significant time-by-group interaction for any of the outcomes.
Source of Information:
J Am Geriatr Soc 53:1667–1674, 2005.
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This information last updated on: 6/15/2006
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