Physical activity, ambulation, and motor impairment late after stroke

Objective. To assess walking capacity and physical activity using clinical measures and to explore their relationships with motor impairment late after stroke. Subjects. A nonrandomised sample of 22 men and 9 women with a mean age of 60 years, 7-10 years after stroke. Methods. Fugl-Meyer Assessment, maximum walking speed, 6 min walk test, perceived exertion, and heart rate were measured, and the Physiological Cost Index was calculated. Physical activity was reported using The Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly. Results. Mean (SD) 6 min walking distance was 352 (±136) m, and Physiological Cost Index was 0.60 (±0.41). Self-reported physical activity was 70% of the reference. Motor impairment correlated with walking capacity but not with the physical activity level. Conclusion. It may be essential to enhance physical activity even late after stroke since in fairly young subjects both walking capacity and the physical activity level were lower than the reference.