Duration of physical activity is normal but frequency is reduced after stroke: An observational study

Matar Abdullah Alzahrani, Louise Ada*, Catherine M. Dean

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

50 Citations (Scopus)
37 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Question: What is the free-living physical activity of community-dwelling people with stroke compared with that of agematched healthy controls? Design: A cross-sectional observational study. Participants: 42 people with stroke and 21 agematched healthy controls aged 52 to 87 years living in Sydney, Australia. Outcome measures: Free-living physical activity was measured using the Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Activity (IDEEA) and reported as duration (time on feet in min) and frequency (activity counts). Results: People with stroke spent 79 (95% CI 20 to 138) fewer min on their feet and performed 5308 (95% CI 3171 to 7445) fewer activity counts than healthy controls. The observation period of the free-living physical activity of stroke survivors was significantly less than that of the healthy controls. Data adjusted to a fixed observation period (12 hr) showed no relative difference in time on feet between the groups (mean difference 36 min, 95% CI -27 to 99) but that people after stroke still had relatively fewer activity counts than healthy controls (mean difference 4062 counts, 95% CI 1787 to 6337). Conclusions: The reduction in physical activity after stroke is not primarily because of a decrease in the time spent being active but rather a decrease in frequency of activity during that time. Future research into physical activity after stroke needs to consider energy expenditure because stroke survivors exhibit a reduced frequency of physical activity due to the nature of their impairments.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)47-51
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Physiotherapy
Volume57
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2011
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Publisher [2011]. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Duration of physical activity is normal but frequency is reduced after stroke: An observational study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this