Physical Activity Level Among Stroke Patients Hospitalized in a Rehabilitation Unit

The current literature contains little information about the level of physical activity of hospitalized patients who have had a stroke. Improving knowledge in the area could help optimize rehabilitation.

To determine the level of physical activity of hospitalized patients who have had a stroke to discover if they achieved the recommended 30 minutes of physical activity per day (equivalent to 142 kcal) during sessions of 10 consecutive minutes.

Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Unit of the Jean Rebeyrol Hospital, Limoges, France.

All patients (N = 88) who had sustained a stroke within the previous 6 months were included over a period of 7 months.

The duration of physical activity and related energy expenditure were estimated using a SenseWear armband (BodyMedia [Jawbone]). Subjects wore the sensor on the nonparetic arm for 2 consecutive days from 9 am to 4:30 pm, corresponding to the period spent daily on rehabilitation. The Fisher simple correlation test and Mann-Whitney nonparametric test were performed.

A total of 88 patients aged 66 ± 17 years with a mean poststroke period of 43 ± 34 days and a mean Barthel Index of 61 ± 25/100 were enrolled in the study. Between 9 am and 4:30 pm, patients took part in an average of 23 ± 30 minutes of physical activity (equivalent to 91 ± 122 kcal). Correlations were found between physical activity time in the hospital and physical activity before the stroke occurred (r = 0.345, P < .0001), the Barthel Index (r = 0.284, P = .0002), body mass index (r = -0.440, P < .0001), and time to hospital release (r = -0.183, P = .0194).

It was found that 62% of patients did not achieve the recommended amount of physical activity. Sessions dedicated to physical activity could motivate patients who have had a stroke and help them meet recommendations before leaving the rehabilitation unit.