Abstract
Frenkel's ambulatory activity has been routinely employed by physiotherapists for rehabilitation of gait coordination, however, its immediate influence on blood pressure and heart rate has not been investigated. To investigate the acute effect of Frenkel's ambulatory activity on blood pressure and heart rate of chronic hemiparetic stroke survivors. Using a comparative study design, 60 chronic hemiparetic stroke survivors of varying onset of stroke, ≤6, >6-11 and ≥12 months were subjected to a 2-minute Frenkel's ambulatory activity on marked footsteps (from standard adult described footsteps). Participants were assessed for both blood pressure and heart rate before and after the Frenkel's ambulatory activity. Blood pressure and heart rate significantly increased (p<0.05) following Frenkel's ambulatory activity in all the 3 categories of stroke onset above baseline. However, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) across the onsets in both blood pressure and heart rate responses. The outcome of this study indicated that Frenkel's ambulatory activity has the propensity to increase blood pressure and heart rate of hemiparetic stroke survivors irrespective of the onset of stroke. We recommend a pre, within and post-activity monitoring of stroke survivors while subjecting them to Frenkel's ambulatory activity.
Highlights
Gait is an organized motor activity essential for the performance of activities of daily living
Our study investigated the effect of Frenkel's ambulatory activity on selected cardiovascular parameters with an aim to identify to what extent these parameters are influenced by the acute effect of the activity
Participants Sixty male and female chronic hemiparetic stroke survivors were recruited to participate in this comparative study
Summary
Gait is an organized motor activity essential for the performance of activities of daily living. Gait activity in humans is made possible through a sensory- motor control systems of complex integration. Impaired walking ability is a hallmark of the residual deficit following stroke. At the early stage of stroke, the paresis of the lower-extremity secondary to impairment of muscle activation decreases the likely effort to propel the limb to swing and the ability to use the limbs as a base of support during stance[3,4]. As time from stroke increases beyond the early post-stroke period, motor control, muscle strength (force-generating capacity), and walking ability gradually improve[5]. Stroke disrupts selective voluntary control and can leave the African Health Sciences Vol 14 Issue 4, December 2014 patient with primitive patterns of muscle action and spasticity[8]. Frenkel’s ambulatory activity has been routinely employed by physiotherapists for rehabilitation of gait coordination, its immediate influence on blood pressure and heart rate has not been investigated
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