Every year more than 700,000 people in the United States suffer a stroke. Thankfully, nearly two-thirds of the victims survive, but they need rehabilitation. This often means long stays in a facility away from home or at the least, frequent visits for outpatient care. Now a new study shows when it comes to helping stroke patients walk again, low-tech, home-based approaches to rehabilitation may work just as well as the specialized treadmill training you get in a rehab facility.
The study, conducted by Duke University, is the largest one ever done on stroke rehabilitation in this country. Patients over age 18 with one weakened leg after a recent stroke were recruited from six rehabilitation facilities in California and Florida. To be included in the research, they had to be able to walk at least 10 feet with minimal help and to tolerate exercise. They also had to be living at home or were expected to return home after therapy. The average age of the study participants was sixty.
The study found that about half of 408 participants, who were partially paralyzed when they started therapy, were able to walk longer distances at faster speeds a year after their strokes, whether they received physical therapy for 90 minutes three times a week for three months at home or on a body-weight-supported treadmill in a rehab facility.
