Five clinical trials have investigated the effects of additional repetitive sit-to-stand training after stroke, but each one has had serious methodological limitations. In a recent randomised controlled trial by physiotherapists in Sydney, 30 people with stroke all received usual care.
Half the participants attended two additional sessions of physiotherapy per day for 2 weeks. These sessions were individualised to the needs of each participant in order to increase the amount and intensity of sit-to-stand training.
All participants completed the trial and a significant benefit in sit-to-stand ability was found on two different ways of measuring sit-to-stand function.
However, it is not clear whether the size of the treatment effect is clinically worthwhile. The large amounts of sit-to-stand training were well tolerated in the early stages of stroke recovery.
> From: de Sousa et al., J Physiother 65 (2019) 152-158 (Epub ahead of print). All rights reserved to Australian Physiotherapy Association. Click here for the online summary.
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