Finding the will to exercise routinely can be challenging enough for most people, but a stroke presents even more obstacles. Yet aerobic exercise may be crucial for recovery and reducing the risk of another stroke or even death.<\/p>\n
Pam Bosch<\/strong>, associate professor of physical therapy at Northern Arizona University, is researching the role of aerobic exercise in patients recovering from stroke, and her approach may open the way for patients to experience faster recovery and a higher quality of life.<\/p>\n A few facts about stroke show the importance of Bosch\u2019s pilot study. Stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability in the United States, affecting more than 800,000 people a year, and more than one third of that number are under 65. Many of the survivors were not physically fit to begin with, so among their new challenges are mobility and participation in everyday activities while likely facing some degree of paralysis on one side of their body.<\/p>\n Typically, there is an urgency to focus on overcoming those impairments through physical therapy skills training. But Bosch thinks something is missing: fitness as a foundation for recovery.<\/p>\n \u201cMy hypothesis is that basing the exercise prescription on a measure called ventilatory threshold and using an interval training protocol during treadmill walking may be an important component of rehabilitation,\u201d Bosch said.<\/p>\n Ventilatory threshold\u2014a familiar concept to runners who use interval training\u2014is a value that can be used to establish an aerobic exercise prescription. Bosch measures a patient\u2019s oxygen levels during exercise to determine when effort becomes labored.<\/p>\n \u201cUsing that baseline for the prescription should push the patients a little harder,\u201d Bosch said. \u201cFrom what I\u2019ve seen so far, they are able to meet the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n Bosch said she prefers treadmill walking for aerobic training because walking is something people do every day and it generates other benefits, such as cardiovascular health and the stimulation of neuroplastic changes that come when people practice a skill.<\/p>\n Bosch is screening patients from the Phoenix area while working with a collaborator in South Carolina. \u201cOur hope is to keep testing people as we seek funding,\u201d Bosch said. \u201cWe want enough data to support the hypothesis so we can conduct a larger-scale trial.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n Study seeks participants
\n<\/strong><\/span>Participants are being sought for a pilot study focused on building aerobic capacity in people recovering from stroke. The protocol requires a 12-week commitment. Baseline measures are taken during the first week, followed by 10 weeks of training at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus, and post-test session in week 12. For information, contact Pam Bosch, at Pam.Bosch@nau.edu, or 602-827-2436.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n