Authors:
Fifin Indraswari
;
Hening Laswati
and
Indrayuni Lukitra W.
Affiliation:
Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia
Keyword(s):
Aerobic exercise, cardiorespiratory fitness, gait speed, stroke
Abstract:
Background: Aerobic exercise has been recommended and proven to improve cardiorespiratory (CR) fitness in individuals after stroke, but its effect on gait speed varies. In the Guidelines for Diagnosis and Therapy at IRM Dr. Soetomo general hospital, aerobic exercise has not yet become part of routine exercise after stroke. Objective: To compare the effectiveness of the addition of aerobic exercise using a static cycle to routine functional exercise according the Guidelines on CR fitness and gait speed of sub-acute ischemic stroke patients. Study design: Randomized controlled-trial. Material and methods: All subjects (n=18) underwent routine functional exercise, 3 times a week for 4 weeks. Subjects in the trial group (n=9) had the addition of aerobic exercise using a static cycle for 30 minutes. This research has been approved by the Health Research Ethics Committee of Dr. Soetomo Hospital. Results: There were improvements in CR fitness after the training in the treatment group, with
significant decreases in resting heart rate (p=0.002), but not in the control group (p=0.280). No significant difference in reduction of resting heart rate was found between the two groups (p=0.171). There was no significant increase in self-selected gait speed in the treatment (p= 0.069), the control (p=0.802) and between the two groups (p=0.183). Similarly, there was no significant increase in fastest gait speed in the treatment (p=0.121), the control (p=0.494), and between the two groups (p=0.291). Conclusion: The addition of aerobic exercise has the same effectiveness as only routine functional exercise in improving CR fitness after sub-acute stroke as well as in increasing gait speed.
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