Comparison of the effectiveness of anti-gravity treadmill exercises and underwater walking exercises on cardiorespiratory fitness, functional capacity and balance in stroke patients.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to compare the effectiveness of anti-gravity treadmill gait training and underwater walking therapy on cardiorespiratory fitness, gait, and balance in stroke survivors.
Results Summary
Anti-gravity treadmill training significantly improved cardiorespiratory fitness, including maximum heart rate, walking distance, and metabolic equivalents, but no significant changes in balance were observed across groups. Underwater walking therapy results were not highlighted in the abstract.
Population
39 stroke survivors admitted to a center between July 2017 and January 2018.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
anti-gravity treadmill training | increase | maximum heart rate during 6-min walk test | patients with a history of stroke | - | statistically significant increase | #1 |
anti-gravity treadmill training | increase | length of walking distance during 6-min walk test | patients with a history of stroke | - | statistically significant increase | #2 |
anti-gravity treadmill training | increase | maximum heart rate attained during exercise stress testing | patients with a history of stroke | - | significant improvements | #3 |
anti-gravity treadmill training | decrease | time to complete the test | patients with a history of stroke | - | significant improvements | #4 |
anti-gravity treadmill training | increase | rates of metabolic equivalents of task scores | patients with a history of stroke | - | significant improvements | #5 |
anti-gravity treadmill training | increase | peak oxygen consumption | patients with a history of stroke | - | significant improvements | #6 |
anti-gravity treadmill training | decrease | corrected QT intervals (QTc) | patients with a history of stroke | - | improvements were observed | #7 |
anti-gravity treadmill training | decrease | Tp-e interval | patients with a history of stroke | - | improvements were observed | #8 |
anti-gravity treadmill training | decrease | Tp-e/QT ratio | patients with a history of stroke | - | improvements were observed | #9 |
anti-gravity treadmill training | decrease | Tp-e/QTc ratio | patients with a history of stroke | - | improvements were observed | #10 |
anti-gravity treadmill training | no change | Berg Balance Scale (BBS) results | patients with a history of stroke | - | no statistically significant difference | #11 |
underwater walking therapy | no change | Berg Balance Scale (BBS) results | patients with a history of stroke | - | no statistically significant difference | #12 |
control group | no change | Berg Balance Scale (BBS) results | patients with a history of stroke | - | no statistically significant difference | #13 |
anti-gravity treadmill training | increase | cardiorespiratory fitness | stroke survivors | - | has favorable effects | #14 |
INTRODUCTION: Aerobic exercise training after stroke has positive effects on quality of life, motor recovery, and aerobic endurance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of anti-gravity treadmill gait training and underwater walking therapy on cardiorespiratory fitness, gait and balance in stroke survivors. METHODS: The study included 39 patients with a history of stroke who were admitted to our center between July 2017 and January 2018. The patients were randomly assigned to anti-gravity treadmill training, underwater walking therapy, or a control group. The aerobic capacity of the participants was evaluated with the 6-min walk test and cycle ergometer testing before and after the treatment. Balance was examined using the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). RESULTS: There was a statistically significant increase from pre- to post-treatment with regard to maximum heart rate and length of walking distance during 6-min walk test parameters in patients who underwent anti-gravity treadmill training (p < 0.05). The cycle ergometer training results showed significant improvements compared to baseline after treatment in patients who underwent anti-gravity training in terms of maximum heart rate attained during exercise stress testing, time to complete the test, rates of metabolic equivalents of task scores and peak oxygen consumption (p < 0.05). Improvements were also observed in ventricular repolarization indices including corrected QT intervals (QTc), Tp-e interval and Tp-e/QT, Tp-e/QTc ratio in the anti-gravity group (p < 0.05). BBS results showed no statistically significant difference in all groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The data of this study showed that anti-gravity treadmill training has favorable effects on cardiorespiratory fitness in stroke survivors.