The Effect of Walking Backward on a Treadmill on Balance, Speed of Walking and Cardiopulmonary Fitness for Patients with Chronic Stroke: A Pilot Study

Ken-Wei Chang, Chih-Ming Lin, Chen-Wen Yen, Chia-Chi Yang, Toshiaki Tanaka and Lan-Yuen Guo
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Ken-Wei Chang: Department of Sports Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
Chih-Ming Lin: Department of Neurology, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua 500, Taiwan
Chen-Wen Yen: Department of Mechanical and Electro-Mechanical Engineering, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
Chia-Chi Yang: The Master Program of Long-Term Care in Aging, College of Nursing, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
Toshiaki Tanaka: Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University of Science, Sapporo 006-8585, Japan
Lan-Yuen Guo: Department of Sports Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 5, 1-10

Abstract: This study determines the effect of walking backward on a treadmill on balance, speed of walking and cardiopulmonary fitness for patients with chronic stroke. Subjects with chronic stroke for more than six months, whose level of Brunnstrom stage is greater than IV and who are able to walk more than eleven meters with or without assistive devices were recruited. After grouping for a single-blind clinical randomized controlled trial, the subjects were divided into two groups: eight in the control group and eight in the experimental group. All subjects were subjected to 30 min traditional physical therapy, three times a week for four weeks. The experimental group was subjected to an additional 30 min of walking backward on a treadmill. The Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and the Timed Up and Go test (TUG) were used to determine the functional balance and walking ability. The walking speed was evaluated using a timed 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT), and the cardiopulmonary fitness was determined using a 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) and a pulmonary function test (PFT). All assessments were made at baseline before training commenced (pre-training) and at the end of the four-week training period (post-training). A paired t -test and an independent t -test were used to determine the effect on balance, speed of walking and cardiopulmonary fitness before and after training. The level of significance ? was 0.05. After four weeks of training, the experimental group showed significant differences ( p < 0.05) on TUG, BBS, 10MWT, 6MWT, forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1). This pilot study shows that the 30 min of walking backward on a treadmill three times a week for four weeks increased balance, speed of walking and cardiopulmonary fitness. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials NCT02619110.

Keywords: chronic stroke; cardiopulmonary; Berg Balance Scale (BBS) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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