Abstract
The use of exercise training to enhance functional outcomes and improve physiological parameters after stroke is now receiving great attention from clinicians. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the effects of overground walking exercise training on blood pressure of adult patients with stroke. 47 stroke survivors comprising 25 men and 22 women participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to an exercise training group (A) and a control group (B); with 23 subjects in Group A and 24 subjects in Group B. Forty (40) subjects (20 in each group) completed the study. All study subjects received conventional physiotherapy rehabilitation for 12 weeks. During the same period, subjects in Group A had overground walking exercise training (OWET) in addition to the conventional therapy. Changes in resting systolic and diastolic blood pressures were monitored throughout the period of the study. Results at weeks 0, 4, 8 and 12 were used for analysis. For each of the 2 groups, paired t-tests were used to evaluate the significance of the differences between the pre-intervention (week 0) mean scores on resting SBP/DBP and the mean scores at weeks 4, 8 and 12. Subjects in the OWET group had significant reductions in resting SBP and DBP with 12 weeks of training. Reductions in resting SBP and DBP were not statistically significant for the subjects in the control group. It was concluded that overground walking exercise training was highly effective for reduction of blood pressure in adult patients with stroke; and could be combined with conventional rehabilitation commonly used in most stroke-care units.
Keywords: Stroke, blood pressure, exercise training, rehabilitation, walking
Résumé
L’usage de l’exercice pour améliorer les résultats fonctionnels et améliorer les paramètres physiologiques après la survie a l’arrêt cardiaque reçoit une attention importante des médecins. Le but de cette et due était de démontrer les effets de l’exercice de marche sur la pression artérielle des patients adulte ayant eu un arrêt cardiaque. Quarante sept survivants (25 hommes et 22 femmes) participaient dans cette étude. Ils étaient groupes au hasard soit au groupe A (23 sujets) ou le groupe de contrôle B (24 sujets). Quarante (40) sujets (20 dans chaque groupe) ont complète l’étude. Tous les sujets ont reçu une réhabilitation physio thérapeutique conventionnelle pour 12 semaines. Durant cette même période, le groupe A faisaient de séances de marche en plus de la physiothérapie conventionnelle. Les changements au repos en systole et diastole de la pression artérielle étaient surveilles pendant la période. Les résultats des semaines 0, 4, 8 et 12 étaient analyses par groupe par les tests significatifs des moyennes des résultats de la pré-intervention (semaine 0) et les exercices de marche était très efficace pour la d’autres semaines 4, 8 and 12. Les sujets du groupe A avaient des réductions significatives de la pression systolique et diastolique âpres 12 semaines de séances de marche. Ces réductions des pressions systoliques et diastoliques n’étaient pas statistiquement significatives chez le groupe de contrôle. Il était conclu que les exercices de marche étaient très efficaces sur la réduction de la pression artérielle chez ces survivants et pourrait être combine à la réhabilitation conventionnelle dans les unités des soins des survivants de l’arrêt cardiaque.
Correspondence: Dr. O.A.Olawale, Department of Physiotherapy, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, PMB 12003, Lagos, Nigeria. E-mail: jideolawale@yahoo.com
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