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Correlations between aerobic exercise time during physiotherapy and characteristics of patients with subacute stroke:
Masafumi Nozoe1, Rio Masuya2, Miho Yamamoto2
1Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Konan Women's University, Kobe, Japan.
Background:
The amount of aerobic exercise time (AET) is an important factor for improving physical function in patients with stroke. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding the factors for AET during physiotherapy, particularly in stroke patients.
Objective:
To investigate the correlation between AET during physiotherapy and characteristics of patients with subacute stroke.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional study, 61 hospitalized subacute stroke patients (age = 72 (11) years, (median (interquartile range)) were enrolled and their exercise intensity was measured by wearable sensors (Mio Alpha 2) worn during physiotherapy sessions. All patients were divided into two groups, non-ambulatory group (functional ambulation classification (FAC); 0-2) and ambulatory group (FAC; 3-5). The correlations between AET and patient characteristics were assessed in each group.
Results:
There was no significant difference in AET between the ambulatory and non-ambulatory groups (9 (12) min vs 5 (10) min, p = .27, respectively). There was a significant correlation between AET and the functional independent measures (FIM) motor score in the ambulatory group (r = 0.52, p = .005), and between AET and the FIM cognitive score in the non-ambulatory group (r = 0.44, p = .008).
Conclusion:
Correlations between AET and patient characteristics were different according to ambulation capacity in patients with subacute stroke.
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