A recent systematic literature review identified 52 randomised trials of repetitive task practice after stroke, from which they were able to pool the data on 1928 participants in those studies.
This very powerful analysis clearly showed that repetitive task practice improves strength in people after stroke: by about 15% in the upper limb and by about 28% in the lower limb. These improvements in strength were accompanied by similarly substantial improvements in activity.
For example, the improvement in lower limb activity equated to being able to walk about an extra 8 metres per minute, which is an important improvement in the stroke population.
The authors concluded that repetitive practice should be prioritised as an intervention that can improve both strength and activity in people after stroke.
> From: de Sousa, J Physiother 64 (2018) 210-221 . All rights reserved to the Australian Physiotherapy Association. Click here for the online summary.
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