Metabolic Improvement by Physical Therapy in Diabetic Patients with Stroke

Abstract

From the standpoint of metabolic improvement, we prescribed physical exercises to diabetic patients with stroke and evaluated the effect.
In the group of the patients who performed gait training and repetitive rising training with target heart rate (HR) of 60% of HR_max, significant improvement was obtained in VO₂ 100 and VO_{2 REST} (p < 0.05) and integrated HRs during exercises tended to decrease. Indexes for blood glucose (BG) control, glycosilated hemoglobin A_1c and fasting BG, were also significantly improved (p < 0.01).
It seems important to observe the whole day activities and the concomitant variation of HR and BG level and to make activities in daily living reflect the training effects.
We suggest the possibility that it may be effective for metabolic improvement in stroke patients to perform functional training with proper settings of the way and intensity of exercises.