Individualized Treadmill and Strength Training for Chronic Stroke Rehabilitation: Effects of Imbalance

AbstractBackground and Purpose: Stroke survivors often have significant walking limitations and are at high risk for falling. Treadmill training, as a rehabilitation approach in stroke survivors, and its relationship to balance ability has not been widely studied. The main goal of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an individualized treadmill–strength training protocol on functional outcomes in chronic stroke survivors. Methods: Thirty adult participants with chronic stroke were recruited from 1 European and 4 Middle Eastern countries. Each completed 36 sessions of treadmill–strength training. The rehabilitation protocol was individualized according to each patient’s cardiovascular fitness. Ten-meter walk test (10MWT), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and 6-minute walk test (6MWT) were measured before (T0) and after training (T1) and 6 months later (T2). Paired t tests were used to test differences with training (T1 - T0) and retention after training (T2 - T1). Results: Increases in all 3 measure...