This exercise could help you walk again after a stroke
Recovering from a stroke can be a painful, difficulty and lengthy process consisting of weeks, months and even years of intense physical therapy.
But a new study has found that focusing on arm exercises as well as leg training can help stroke sufferers relearn how to walk faster than leg exercises alone.
Researchers from the University of Victoria in Canada studied 19 patients between the ages of 57 and 87 who had suffered a stroke between seven and 17 years prior. They discovered that those who completed 30 minutes of moderate-intensity rhythmic arm cycling, three times a week, performed far better on walking tests after five weeks of training.
The walking tests included measuring how far the participants could walk in six minutes, how fast they could walk 10 metres, and how long it took them to stand from sitting, walk 10 feet then return to their seat. All who completed rhythmic arm cycling exercises experienced an improvement in these tests – as much as 28 per cent in the final test.
“Arm cycling training activated interlimb networks that contribute to the coordination of rhythmic walking,” researchers wrote. In other words, activating the nerves in the arms helped them improve function of the spinal cord in other parts of the body affected by stroke, including the legs.
But it’s not only those who’ve only recently suffered a stroke that can benefit from these exercises – they can help years after injury.
“Although improvements in walking may not be as robust as those from other training modalities, they do highlight the integral role that training the arms can have on rehabilitation of human locomotion,” researchers concluded.
Tell us in the comments below, have you ever suffered a stroke? How did you recover?