Aerobic Walking Exercise for Non-Ambulatory Stroke Survivors

University of Kansas

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Stroke

Treatments: Behavioral: Aerobic walking program; Behavioral: Standard physical therapy

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03479632

STUDY00140799

Details and patient eligibility

About

By doing this study, researchers hope to learn the effects of aerobic exercise on heart, lung, and bone health in people who cannot walk after a stroke.

Enrollment: 40 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Independent ambulation before stroke
• Be able to understand and follow verbal commands in English
• Have physicians' approval for exercise, and be in stable medical condition
• Participant's first stroke
• Unable to walk independently according to Functional Ambulation Category (FAC) (<2) after in-patient rehabilitation treatment
• Between 6 weeks to 5 years after stroke onset

Exclusion criteria

• Current cardiovascular abnormalities other than stroke such as ischemic cardiovascular event or coronary artery bypass surgery less than 3 months ago
• Musculoskeletal disorder which prevents subjects from participating in the exercise
• Resting blood pressure more than 200/110 mm Hg
• Current or previous pulmonary diseases in the past two years
• Osteoporosis and restricted passive movement in the major joints of the lower limbs
• Subjects will be excluded if they are unable to speak or understand English and/or unable to travel to the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) Neuromuscular Research Laboratory

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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40 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention Group

Experimental group

Description:

The intervention group will undergo an aerobic walking program using a treadmill, a body-weight support system, and an assistive device.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Aerobic walking program

Control Group

Active Comparator group

Description:

The control group will receive standard physical therapy (PT).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Standard physical therapy