Deficits in dynamic balance were the motor impairments that best explained limitations in community ambulation after stroke.

BACKGROUND: Improving walking capacity, in order to achieve community ambulation, is an important goal for both patients and rehabilitation professionals. However, only about 7 to 27% of the stroke survivors will be able to walk in the community. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine which measures of motor impairments would impair community ambulation in 90 individuals with chronic stroke. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Research laboratory at Federal University of Minas Gerais. POPULATION: Chronic stroke patients. METHODS: For this exploratory study, the dependent variable, community ambulation, was determined by the distance covered during the 6-Minute Walking Test (6MWT). Participants, who covered ≥288 meters during the 6MWT, were classified as unlimited-community ambulators, whereas those who covered <288 meters were considered limited-community ambulators. Logistic regression analysis was carried-out to investigate which measures of motor impairments (deficits in strength of the knee extensor muscles, dynamic balance, and lower-limb motor coordination, as well as increased tonus of the ankle plantarflexor muscles) would explain the variance in community ambulation, i.e., the distance covered during the 6MWT. RESULTS: Out of the 90 participants, 51 were unlimited and 39 were limited-community ambulators. Only the measure of dynamic balance (OR=0.81, 95% CI: 0.72-0.91) reached significance and was kept in the logistic regression model. CONCLUSIONS: Deficits in dynamic balance best explained limitations in community ambulation in individuals with chronic stroke. Future studies are needed to determine whether rehabilitation interventions aiming at improving dynamic balance would lead to unlimited-community ambulation. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: Amongst common motor impairments observed after stroke, such as increased tonus of the ankle plantarflexor muscles and deficits in strength of the knee extensor muscles and lower-limb motor coordination, dynamic balance, was the only variable that explained limitations in community ambulation after stroke. Future studies aiming at investigating community ambulation after stroke could take into account measures of dynamic balance.

Water-based exercises for improving walking speed, balance, and strength after stroke: a systematic review with meta-analyses of randomized trials.

BACKGROUND: Water-based exercises have the potential to reduce impairments and walking limitations after stroke. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of water-based exercises on walking speed, balance, and strength after stroke. DATA SOURCES: Eletronic searches on MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane, PsycINFO, and PEDro databases. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: The review included randomized trials. Participants in the reviewed studies were ambulatory adults, who have had a stroke. The experimental intervention was comprised of water-based exercises. DATA SYNTHESIS: Outcome data related to walking speed, balance, and strength were extracted from the eligible trials and combined in meta-analyses. The quality of the included trials was assessed by the PEDro scores and the quality of evidence was determined according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system. RESULTS: Thirteen trials involving 464 participants were included. Random-effects meta-analyses provided moderate-quality evidence that water-based exercises significantly increase walking speed by 0.06m/second (95% CI 0.01 to 0.10) and balance by 4.5 points on the Berg Balance scale (95% CI 2.2 to 6.8), compared with land-based exercises, without concurrent changes in strength (MD 5.2Nm/kg; 95% CI -1.4 to 11.9). CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review provided low-quality evidence regarding the efficacy of water-based exercises, compared with no intervention. However, there is moderate quality evidence, which suggested significant benefits of water-based exercises in walking speed and balance, compared with land-based exercises. Differences appear small to be considered clinically relevant, and, therefore, water-based exercises can be prescribed as alternative interventions, based upon individuals' exercise preferences. Systematic Review Registration Number PROSPERO (CRD42018108419).

Test-Retest Reliability of the ABILOCO Questionnaire in Individuals with Stroke.

BACKGROUND: The ABILOCO is a self-reported questionnaire, specific for individuals with stroke, for the assessment of ability of locomotion. The ABILOCO has been investigated using the Rasch model and has shown satisfactory measurement properties. However, its test-retest reliability has not been investigated. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the test-retest reliability, that is, agreement, systematic and random variability of the ABILOCO Questionnaire in individuals with chronic stroke. DESIGN: A test-retest reliability study. SETTING: Research laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-one individuals (21 men and 10 women; mean age, 60 years), who had poststroke hemiparesis. INTERVENTION: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENT: The ABILOCO was applied twice, on two occasions, 5 to 7 days apart. Test-retest reliability was investigated, as follows: agreement by the calculation of intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs); systematic variability by the change in the mean; random variability by the standard error of measurement (SEM) and smallest real difference (SRD). RESULTS: Two outliers were identified in the sample. The ICC values for the whole sample were 0.76 (CI 95% 0.56 to 0.88), whereas the SEM (SEM%) and SRD (SRD%) were 0.55 (21%) and 1.52 (58%), respectively. CONCLUSION: The ABILOCO showed to be reliable to be applied within clinical and research contexts for the assessment of changes in locomotion ability of a group of individuals with chronic stroke. However, it appears to be less suitable to detect changes at individual levels. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.