Janice Eng, a renowned stroke rehabilitation specialist and professor at the University of British Columbia, has developed a groundbreaking program aimed at enhancing mobility in stroke patients. This new protocol, which blends progressively higher-intensity walking exercises with wearable activity trackers, was recently implemented across 12 stroke rehabilitation centers spanning seven provinces in Canada. Over a four-week trial period, the program demonstrated significant improvements in patient mobility, offering hope for enhanced recovery processes.
The program's innovative approach combines physical activity with technology. Wearable activity trackers monitor heart rate and step count, providing data that frontline physical therapists and their assistants use to guide patient care without direct intervention. Eng emphasized the importance of this real-world application, stating:
“The innovative part about this trial was putting it into a real-world setting. We trained all the frontline physical therapists and some physical therapy assistants at the front end, and we tried to put in processes so that they could continue the protocol without us intervening,” – Eng
The six-minute walk test, a standard measure of mobility that calculates the distance an individual can walk in six minutes, served as the primary evaluation tool for the program. Initially, participants could walk an average of 498 feet, roughly equivalent to two city blocks. After completing the program, participants increased their distance by 143 feet compared to those who received usual care. This improvement underscores the effectiveness of higher-intensity physical therapy early in the recovery phase, as Eng pointed out:
“We’ve known for a long time that greater physical therapy intensity can improve walking in people after they’ve had a stroke, and this is actually most effective early after stroke in the first couple months,” – Janice Eng, PhD
Implemented in clinics across Canada, this program is designed to be easily adopted by healthcare professionals, ensuring continuity and accessibility of care. The success of this initiative highlights the potential for similar programs to be incorporated into rehabilitation practices globally.
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