Effect of systematic activity in water on chronic stroke survivors

Verheyden, G., Kiekens, C., Vanlandewijck, Y., Feys, H. and Daly, D. (2006) Effect of systematic activity in water on chronic stroke survivors. In Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair: Abstracts of the 4th World Congress for NeuroRehabilitation. Karger. p. 187 . (doi:10.1177/1545968305284198).

Abstract

Background: To assess the outcome of systematic physical activity in water for stroke survivors on endurance, gait speed, mobility in water, spasticity, anxiety and quality of life.
Methods:11 stroke survivors (greater than 12 months poststroke) followed a program of water activities 3 to 4 times a week during a 5-week period. The activities were designed to help the participants:1) be safe and comfortable in water, 2) achieve independent movement, and 3) improve their cardiorespiratory fitness level through actual swimming.
Results: All participants completed the 5-week intervention. There were significant improvements in 6-min endurance walking, (39.1%; P < 0.01), gait speed (16.7%; P = 0.02), and speed for 10-m water movement (23.5%; P = 0.02). Indications of depression were absent at the end of intervention in those with an initial level. Follow-up after 7 weeks showed a significant improvement in 6-min walking speed compared to baseline (25.4%; P = 0.02) but no further change compared to the 5th week. Gait speed slightly decreased compared to 5 weeks but remained better than baseline (P = 0.07). Feeling of well-being did not increase after 5 weeks but did at follow-up (8.9%; P < 0.01). No changes in spasticity or in anxiety and other parts of the EQ-5D were demonstrated during or after the intervention. Conclusion: Systematic physical activities in water are well tolerated by chronic stroke survivors and tend to improve their fitness level as well as the feeling of well-being, without an increase in the level of spasticity.

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