Source: http://www.everydayhealth.com/stroke/after-stroke-walking-improves-quality-of-life-study-finds-3150.aspx
Stroke survivors who regularly go for brisk walks often report improved quality of life, according to a new study.
WEDNESDAY, March 7, 2013 — After stroke, physical activity is important to not only to regain motor and cognitive function, but to also help ward off another stroke.
In a new study, published in the journal Stroke, researchers found that stroke patients who regularly went for brisk walks saw significant improvement in their quality a life — underscoring the findings and recommendations of previous research that has come to similar conclusions.
“Walking is a great way to get active after a stroke,” Carron Gordon, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a lecturer in the physical therapy department at University of the West Indies in Jamaica, said in a statement. “It’s familiar, inexpensive, and it’s something people could very easily get into.”
Researchers split 128 stroke survivors into two groups; one group walked briskly three times a week for three months, and one received therapeutic massage but did no supervised exercise. Gordon and his colleagues found that compared the therapeutic massage group, the walking group reported a 16.7 percent improvement in quality of life. In addition, they were able to walk 17.6 percent farther in a six-minute endurance test and had a 1.5 percent lower resting heart rate.
The results of the study are in line with previous research, which has found similar benefits to walking after stroke. Last month, researchers from the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan published a study that found that stroke patients who walked 6,000 steps or more per day were significantly less likely to have a second stroke or heart attack. They presented their research at the 2013 International Stroke Conference.
And even though 6,000 steps is approximately three miles, a distance some stroke patients may see as daunting, Yamada said it’s important for them to make the effort so they’ll not only feel better, their health will improve.
“It’s safe, it’s possible, and it’s even good for their health to take 6000 or more steps a day,” he said.
Stroke survivors are often wary of walking or exercising due to fears of falling — a fear that can lead to them being stuck in the house, Gordon said in the statement. He suggested that a family member or friend walk with the stoke patient until they are comfortable enough walking alone — as in the study, where walking group was supervised by instructors.
“Walking can help control blood pressure, reduce lipid or fat levels, and help with weight control — all cardiovascular risk factors,” Gordon said in the statement. “So doctors should encourage it for patients who have had a stroke.”
Larry Goldstein, MD, Director of the Duke Stroke Center, said the cardiovascular benefits of walking can help prevent another stroke.
“The better your heart is doing, the better you’re doing in general,” says Dr. Goldstein. “Beginning to walk, even long after a stroke, has been associated with functional gains.”
But he recommended that people don’t wait until they have a stroke to start walking.
“Getting regular physical exercise is one of the factors we believe is associated with a lower stroke risk,” he said.
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The fight with stroke counts every second, pay as much attention to your health as possible, and Nu Skin is always there with you.
Source: http://www.everydayhealth.com/stroke/after-stroke-walking-improves-quality-of-life-study-finds-3150.aspx