The health benefits of physical activity are undeniable, especially in reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases and various cancers. More than the prevention of ill health, being physical active indeed promotes better functional capacity and recovery in individuals experienced stroke event. A recent cohort study assessed the data concerning 1,367 stroke patients in 35 Sweden stroke and rehabilitation centres to investigate the association between physical activity and functional recovery at 6 months after stroke. Those patients were divided into two distinct trajectory groups, increaser and decreaser, based on physical activity trajectories. Those who developed an exercise habit and sustained to 6 months had 2.5 times higher chance to achieve a better functional outcome, whereas being a decreaser who became inactive would be a good predictor for later poorer recovery outcomes. Furthermore, males and people with normal cognition were more likely to be in the increase group, regardless of stroke severity. The results from this study have given a simple and straightforward insight that interventions should target stroke patients with decreasing physical activity to reverse the poorer recovery outcomes preventable.

Reference:

Buvarp D, et al. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 May 1;6(5):e2310919.