Determining the minimum dose of exercise required to improve cardiorespiratory fitness in stroke survivors (ExDose).

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Stroke; Stroke - Ischaemic; Physical Medicine / Rehabilitation - Physiotherapy; Stroke - Haemorrhagic

• Registration Number: ACTRN12617000460303
• Lead Sponsor: niveristy of Newcastle

Brief Summary

It is unclear how much exercise people who have had a stroke should do to increase their cardiorespiratory fitness. We conducted a dose-escalation study to explore whether lower doses of exercise were more tolerable, yet also effective for people after stroke. Four groups of community dwelling, ambulant stroke survivors undertook telehealth supervised exercise sessions 3 days/week for 8 weeks at moderate-vigorous intensity. Session durations (doses) were 10 min (group 1) up to 25 min (group 4). Key Results: All doses were deemed tolerable, and while fitness increased by 17% (dose 1), 13% (dose 2), 19% (dose 3) and 6% (dose 4), increases in (VO2peak) >= 2mL/kg/min (pre-defined measure of success) were only seen in 2/5 participants (dose 1), 1/5 participants (dose 2), 3/5 participants (dose 3), and 2/5 participants (dose 4). Doses were deemed effective if >2/3 of a cohort exceeded this threshold, therefore, no doses were deemed effective. Conclusions: Low doses of home-based moderate-vigorous aerobic exercise were well-tolerated by a small sample of chronic stroke survivors and increased cardiorespiratory fitness and walking capacity overall. Limitations: This study was limited by the small sample size for each dose, and the length of the intervention period. We included only ambulant people with mild-moderate impairments who were, on average, many years post-stroke, and therefore the results may not be generalisable.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Results First Posted: 1900-01-01
• Study Start: 2017-03-30
• Study Completion: 2018-10-11
• Last Update Posted: 26 September 2023

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 21

Inclusion Criteria

Stroke at least 3 months prior
Able to walk with no more than one person assist
Medical clearance to exercise
Internet access at home
Suitable area to exercise at home and availability of responsible person at home to supervise exercise

Exclusion Criteria

Unable to understand instructions in English due to language or cognitive impairments
Pregnant or planning to be pregnant during study period
Self-report current physical activity levels more than 20 minutes/day, 3 days/week
Diagnosed acute or chronic illness with known physical activity contraindications or limits ability to to complete the fitness assessment or intervention
Unable to commit to 10 consecutive weeks of study participation, including attending testing sessions
Current enrolment in other research trial or rehabilitation therapy which focusses on encouraging participation in physical activity.

Study & Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Study Design: Not specified