Characterizing physical activity bouts in people with stroke with different ambulation statuses

While physical activity is crucial for maintaining function, health, and well-being after a stroke, there is limited understanding of how individuals post-stroke accumulate their daily activity in terms of bouts and intensities. This study aimed to characterize and contrast the daily patterns, frequency and intensity of physical activity bouts between people post stroke with different ambulation statuses compared to healthy controls.

In this cross-sectional study, physical activity bouts patterns, frequencies, and intensities were evaluated using Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometers across three groups: 17 limited community ambulators (LCA) post-stroke (walking speed: < 0.8 m/s), 22 community ambulators (CA) post-stroke (walking speed: ≥ 0.8 m/s), and 28 healthy controls.

People post stroke primarily engaged in 1-5 min bouts (LCA: 79%, CA: 76%), with less frequent engagement in 5-10 min (12-14%) and > 10 min bouts (9-10%) during the day. The LCA group engaged comparable or greater time spent in light physical activity during >5-10 and > 10 min bouts compared to CA and healthy controls, but less time in moderate to vigorous physical activity (P < .009). Both post-stroke ambulation groups were most active between 12-5 pm.

CA people post stroke exhibited patterns similar to healthy controls in physical activity bouts, whereas LCA primarily engaged in short bouts and light activity. In the context of secondary stroke prevention, encouraging LCA people post stroke to engage in frequent short bouts of moderate to vigorous physical activity or longer bouts of light physical activity might be realistic targets to improve cardiovascular health.