Exercise dosage to facilitate the recovery of balance, walking, and quality of life after stroke.
Elogni R Amanzonwé, Lisa Tedesco Triccas, Léopold Codjo and 3 others
PMID 36873960WHAT IT FOUND
High-dose aerobic exercise in hospital settings significantly improved walking capacity after stroke, but did not improve balance.
Combining aerobic and resistance training improved quality of life. Therapists should prescribe at least 120 minutes per week at 60% heart rate reserve for walking recovery.
Key findings
01Aerobic exercise did not significantly improve balance in stroke survivors.
02High-dose aerobic training (≥120 min/week, ≥60% HRR) significantly improved walking capacity, while lower doses did not.
03Aerobic interventions executed in hospital settings significantly improved walking capacity compared to other settings.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only one study included acute or sub-acute stroke patients; the results apply primarily to chronic stroke survivors. The review excluded studies where patients received other supplementary treatments like usual care concurrently, which may limit generalizability to typical clinical practice where multiple therapies overlap. Balance outcomes were non-significant, possibly because the excluded studies involving additional treatments might have shown different effects.
The easy way to misread this
Do not prescribe aerobic or resistance exercise as a primary treatment for balance deficits in stroke survivors. This meta-analysis found no significant improvement in balance for either exercise mode, suggesting that specific balance training or other interventions are needed for this outcome.