Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026
A Rehabilitation Program of Exoskeleton-assisted Body Weight-Supported Treadmill Training with Non-immersive Virtual Reality for Stroke Patients
Published on: May 16, 2025
Rehabilitating walking speed poststroke with treadmill-based interventions: a systematic review of randomized
Charalambos C Charalambous1, Heather Shaw Bonilha, Steven A Kautz
11Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
Background:
In the past several years, several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been reported regarding the efficacy of treadmill-based walking-specific rehabilitation programs, either individually (TT) or combined with body weight support (BWSTT), over control group therapies poststroke. No clear consensus exists as to whether treadmill-based interventions are superior in rehabilitating walking speed (WS) poststroke.
Objective:
To review published RCTs examining TT and BWSTT poststroke and describe the effects on improving and retaining WS.
Methods:
A systematic literature search in computerized databases was conducted to identify RCTs whose methodological quality was assessed with PEDro. Pre- and post-WS, change in WS, functional outcomes, and follow-up speed were extracted and calculated from each study. Additionally, statistical results of each study were examined, and the intragroup and intergroup effect sizes (ESintra and ESinter, respectively) were calculated.
Results:
All studies (8 TT; 7 BWSTT) met the inclusion criteria, and their methodological quality was generally good, with a mean PEDro score 6.9/10. Of the 15 studies, 8 studies (4 TT; 4 BWSTT) reported intragroup significant increases of WS, whereas only 4 (4 TT) found superiority of treadmill interventions. Nine studies demonstrated large ESintra (4 TT; 5 BWSTT), yet only 3 showed large ESinter (1 TT; 2 BWSTT). Four studies (2 TT and 2 BWSTT) reported retention of gains in WS, regardless of intervention.
Conclusions:
Treadmill-based interventions poststroke may increase and retain WS, but their universal superiority to other control group therapies has failed to be established.
