Nonhemiplegic Side Strength Training After Stroke Improves Motor Function

This adds to the earlier research that suggested that exercising the good side helps recover the bad side. 

Exercising the good side to recover the 'bad' side. December 2012

Does your doctor know any of this stuff?

Nonhemiplegic Side Strength Training After Stroke Improves Motor Function

In individuals who experience a stroke, strength training of the nonhemiplegic side (NHS) can promote the recovery of balance, mobility, and muscle strength of the paretic side, according to study findings published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

The current study, a single-blinded (evaluator), randomized, controlled trial, was conducted at a tertiary hospital rehabilitation center, located in Sichuan Province, China, between July 2021 and December 2021. A total of 139 individuals who had experienced a first-ever stroke were recruited and randomly assigned to the trial group (n=69) or the control group (n=70). Researchers sought to observe the effect of strength training of the NHS on balance function, mobility, and muscle strength of patients who experience a stroke.

Individuals in the control group underwent usual rehabilitation training, which included step training and trunk control training in the standing position. Those in the trial group, in contrast, received strength training of the NHS, which was based on usual rehabilitation training. The NHS strength training comprised lower limb step training with resisting elastic belt and upper limb pulling elastic belt training in a standing position. For both groups, the training session lasted for 45 minutes, once daily, 5 days per week, for a total of 6 weeks.

The primary study outcome was balance function, which was evaluated with the use of a 14-item Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Each of the items on the BBS is a 5-point ordinal scale that ranges from 0 to 4, with 0 representing complete inability to complete a task and 4 representing the ability to complete a task. An individual’s total score can range between 0 and 56. An elevated score is indicative of enhanced postural control.

… [W]e recommend NHS strength training as a potential rehabilitation treatment item for stroke patients, even though it is opposite to the forced usage paradigm that is characteristic of most stroke rehabilitation procedures.

Secondary outcome measures included the assessment of mobility with use of the 6-minute walk test (6MWT); activities of daily living (ADL) evaluated via the modified Barthel Index (MBI); and muscle strengths of the biceps brachii, iliopsoas, and quadriceps measured using the isokinetic muscle strength testing system. All of the outcome assessments were completed by a physician or a physiotherapist at baseline and postintervention. All evaluators were blinded to the study aim and to the participants’ allocation.