Time spent in physical activity by ambulatory stroke patients and its comparison based on gait speed – A pilot study

Introduction: Physical activity is proven to have beneficial effects in the prevention and management of stroke. This makes it an important modifiable risk factor Stroke is a condition resulting in various functional deficits. The higher functional ability of stroke patients may result in their higher physical activity. Gait speed is a functional parameter to differentiate between the ability of mobility of patients with stroke. However, if it is reflected in the time spent in an activity needs to be explored. Objectives: This pilot study attempts to explore time spent in PA by ambulatory stroke patients and compare time spent in different activity levels based on gait speed. Subjects and Methods: This pilot study recruited 26 ambulatory patients with stroke after obtaining informed consent. Their PA was recorded with ActiGraph wGT3X-BT for 1 day. Differences in time spent in the different level of PA were compared between people with gait speed ≤0.49 m/s and >0.49 m/s. Results: The result of the study shows that patients with stroke having gait speed ≤0.49 m/s had higher time spent in sedentary (686.02 ± 80.35 min/day) and light activity (612 ± 69.84 min/day) as compared to those with >0.49 m/s (646.42 ± 137.52 min/day and 593.57 ± 119.95 min/day, respectively). While time spent in moderate activity was higher in patients with stroke having gait speed >0.49 m/s (199.73 ± 111.17 min/day) as compared to those whose gait speed was ≤0.49 m/s (141.84 ± 76.75 min/day). However, this difference failed to demonstrate statistical significance. Conclusion: Patients with stroke were less physically active as compared to recommendations. Gait speed-based comparison demonstrates a nonsignificant difference between both groups. This suggests that factors other than gait speed may contribute to ambulatory stroke patients’ time spent in PA.