Article

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether regular brisk walking can promote functional
recovery in community-dwelling stroke patients. PATIENTS:
A total of 44 chronic
stroke patients, recruited in Belgium and Benin, respectively European
high-income and African low-income countries.
METHODS: This longitudinal,
single-cohort, observational study with 1 intervention period and 4 time-points
of assessments (2 baseline, 1 post-intervention and 1 follow-up) was structured
in 3 periods: pre-intervention period (1 month), intervention period (3 months)
and follow-up period (3 month). Intervention consisted of a 3 times/week
group-based brisk walking programme. Primary outcome measures were
ACTIVLIM-Stroke questionnaire and the 6-minute walk test (6MWT). Secondary
outcome measures were the Stroke Impairment Assessment Set (SIAS), the Hospital
Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). RESULTS:
All outcome measures were stable during the pre-intervention period (p >/= 0.16).
They all improved significantly after intervention (p </= 0.01), except the HADS
(p = 0.058). However, during the follow-up period, SIAS (p = 0.002) and BBS (p =
0.001) decreased, while ACTIVLIM-Stroke, 6MWT and HADS showed no significant
change (p >/= 0.13). CONCLUSION: This study suggests regular brisk walking as an
effective approach to promote functional recovery in chronic stroke survivors.
However, further studies are required before generalizing these results to the
whole stroke population.

Langue : ANGLAIS