New research into exercise training is giving stroke survivors the chance to improve their quality of life.
Every year 15 million people worldwide experience a stroke. Of these, five million die and five million are permanently disabled. Life after stroke is never the same for many survivors.
Physical fitness is reduced after stroke. Impaired fitness is associated with post-stroke disability. Many stroke survivors require rehabilitation, but most programmes have not included fitness training.
Research by Professor Gillian Mead and Dr David Saunders from 2001 to 2012 has shown that exercise training can improve the physical fitness and physical function of stroke survivors.
Why exercise after a stroke?
The research demonstrated that aerobic fitness is substantially impaired after a stroke. This is important because low aerobic fitness can increase the risk of recurrent stroke and can also worsen post-stroke disability.
Gathering the evidence
In association with the Cochrane Collaboration, Mead and Saunders produced a series of reviews. They compared all the available evidence from clinical trials of exercise training after stroke. This helped them to find out whether exercise interventions can help.
Working with such a large amount of data was important for the project. Individual trials do not provide enough evidence to form clinical guidelines. For the last 10 years, Mead and Saunders have led the production and updating of this vast body of evidence.
Analysing the evidence
The research identified the benefits of physical fitness training for patients. For example, cardiorespiratory training can improve mobility in stroke patients. Mobility is named as especially important by stroke patients themselves.
Practical application
The research programme also looked at how to put this evidence into practice. Key barriers to exercise were lack of motivation, environmental factors (such as transport), health concerns and stroke impairments. Things which helped to motivate patients included social support and the need to be able to perform daily tasks.