Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of early bedside arm and leg cycle ergometer exercises as compared to routine physiotherapy on sitting and standing ability in hospitalized acute stroke patients.
Materials and methods: Thirty-four consecutive patients with acute stroke were included in the randomized controlled trial. Patients were divided into two groups based on 1:1 simple randomization Experimental group (n = 18) and control group (n = 16). Experimental Group received arm and leg cycle ergometry along with conventional physiotherapy exercises, while the patients in the control group received conventional physiotherapy exercises. Both the groups received treatment for a total duration of 50 min session, twice a day for 7 days. Preintervention and postintervention measurements were taken for both groups using performance-oriented mobility assessment, postural assessment scale for stroke, Motricity Index, and Trunk control scale.
Results: Statistically significant improvement (P < 0.05) was observed in the experimental group and control groupafter intervention among all the outcome measures.
Conclusions: Early bedside intervention of cycle ergometer along with routine physiotherapy is effective in improving the sitting and standing abilities, trunk control, and motor function in acute stroke survivors.
Keywords: Acute stroke; cycle ergometry; motor function; posture; trunk control.