Short-term effects of pedaling exercise combined with integrated volitional control electrical stimulation in an older patient hospitalized for subacute stroke: ABA single-case design.
Tatsuya Igarashi, Yuta Tani, Shota Hayashi and 1 others
PMID 36628143WHAT IT FOUND
In one older subacute stroke patient, stride consistency and sideways trunk sway changed most during the pedaling plus IVES phase; other trunk sway measures changed most during pedaling alone.
This single case cannot show the treatment works.
Key findings
01Stride-time variability and sideways trunk sway showed their greatest improvement after the pedaling plus IVES phase.
02Vertical and forward-backward trunk sway showed the largest change after the first pedaling-only phase.
03Affected-side quadriceps strength showed the greatest amount of change after the pedaling plus IVES phase.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
This was one patient, so the findings cannot be generalised to other older stroke patients. The patient also received usual physical therapy throughout, so the effects of IVES, pedaling, and usual therapy cannot be separated. The intervention lasted only 12 days, and the authors said longer or varied dosing is needed to test effectiveness. The authors noted that walking endurance did not show clinically significant differences. The authors noted that single-case results may differ by paralysis severity and disease period.
Declared interests
The authors reported no funding and no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that IVES plus pedaling improves walking for older stroke patients. This was one patient over 12 days, and he also received usual physical therapy, so the effect of IVES alone cannot be separated.