Eccentric training effects for patients with post-stroke hemiparesis on strength and speed gait: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: In hemiparetic patients, the skeletal muscle is mainly affected with a combination of abnormalities (denervation, remodeling, spasticity, and eventually muscular atrophy).

Objective: This study examined the role of eccentric exercise in strengthening muscles of the lower extremity and ultimately improving autonomy in patients with post-stroke hemiparesis during gait.

Methods: Thirty-seven patients hemiparetic adults were recruited, randomized into a control group (n = 19) and an intervention group receiving eccentric muscle strengthening (n = 18). The protocol consisted of three sets of five repetitions of eccentric contraction of the paretic limb after determining the maximum repetition (1 MRI). Evaluation of the 1RM, 10 meters and 6WMT was performed before and after the exercise for each group. Manova test was used to compare the differences between the control and intervention groups.

Results: The paretic limb showed significant increase in one-repetition maximum (1RM) between before and after rehabilitation (p≤0.00003). The two groups of Patients increased their walking speed (p≤0.0005), but we observed a significant difference between groups only for the 6MWT and not on the 10 meters Test.

Conclusions: Eccentric training can be useful in strengthening the muscles of the lower limbs, and promoting gait performance. Eccentric training could complement other methods of managing patients with post-stroke hemiparesis.