Effects of Training for a Stroke

Effects of training after a stroke.

What are the effects of training after a stroke?  A stroke can be devastating, not just mentally but physically, but research has shown that exercising after a stroke is one of the most effective ways to improve recovery.

The effects of exercise are far reaching, affecting not just your ability to recover from the actual symptoms of a stroke, but also reducing your likelihood of further strokes.  In addition, as the indicators for stroke are virtually identical to those for heart conditions, you will be reducing your chances of a heart attack at the same time.

Supportive research.

For example, Potemka et al (1995) reported in the journal Stroke that 42 hemiparetic stroke survivors who engaged in a vigorous aerobic exercise training 3 times per week for 10 weeks produced significant improvements in peak oxygen consumption and workload, submaximal exercise blood pressure response, exercise time, and sensorimotor function.  This is clear evidence that stroke patients can increase their cardiovascular fitness in a way that is similar to that of other healthy older adults who engage in endurance programs.

Similarly, Macko et al (2001) studied the effects of six months of aerobic treadmill training, and found that the program produced significant reductions in submaximal energy expenditure – this is significant, because if aerobic exercise training and improved cardiovascular fitness can enable activities of daily living to be performed at a lower percentage of aerobic capacity, it makes the basic task of daily living easier for recovering stroke victims – the increased fitness helps with everything you do.

Other benefits depend on the specificity of the training.  Rimmer et al (2000) put 35 stroke patients with multiple comorbidities on a 1-hour-per-day, 3-day-per-week, 12-week exercise program which combined cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility training.  When compared with controls, the exercise group showed significant gains in peak oxygen uptake, increases in strength, and improvements in body composition.

Understanding Cholesterol.

One factor that has long been associated with risk of both stroke and heart disease is elevated total serum cholesterol.  Following a 6-month home exercise training program, a group of male stroke survivors were found to have significant increases in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (“good” cholesterol), with decreases in both their resting heart rate and total serum cholesterol.  All of these are significant changes for lowering the risk of further strokes. (Fletcher et al, 1994)

What all of these demonstrate is that exercising after a stroke can have significant benefits.  Not only can exercise improve your ability to cope with the demands of everyday life – through improved submaximal energy expenditure and increased strength – it can also reduce the likelihood of a further stroke.

References:

Potempa K, Lopez M, Braun LT, et al. Physiological outcomes of aerobic exercise training in hemiparetic stroke patients. Stroke. 1995; 26: 101–105.

Macko RF, Smith GV, Dobrovolny CL, et al. Treadmill training improves fitness reserve in chronic stroke patients. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2001; 82: 879–884.

Rimmer JH, Riley B, Creviston T, et al. Exercise training in a predominantly African-American group of stroke survivors. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000; 32: 1990–1996.

Fletcher BJ, Dunbar SB, Felner JM, et al. Exercise testing and training in physically disabled men with clinical evidence of coronary artery disease. Am J Cardiol. 1994; 73: 170–174.