Purpose: This study investigates the effects of an 8-weeks rehabilitation exercise plus soymilk ingestion immediately after exercise on functional outcomes in chronic stroke patients.
Methods: Twenty-two stroke patients (age: 57-84 yrs; time since stroke onset: 2-19 yrs) participated and completed the study. A randomized, placebo-controlled and double-blind design was used. Participants were randomly allocated to either soymilk (SMS; n = 11) or placebo (PLA; n = 11) group and received identical 8-weeks rehabilitation intervention (3 sessions/week; 120 min/session) with corresponding treatment beverages. The physical and functional outcomes were evaluated before, during, and after the intervention.
Results: The 8-weeks rehabilitation program enhanced functional outcomes of participants. The immediate soymilk ingestion after exercise additionally improved hand grip strength (p = 0.021), 8-feet walking speed (p = 0.019), walking performance per unit lean mass (p = 0.024), and 6-minute walk performance (6MWT, p = 0.016) compared with PLA after the intervention. However, the improvements in the total score for short physical performance battery (SPPB) and lean mass did not differ between groups.
Conclusion: Compared with rehabilitation alone, the 8-week rehabilitation program combined with immediate soymilk ingestion further improved walking speed, exercise endurance, grip strength, and muscle functionality in chronic stroke patients.
Keywords: Endurance training; functional ability; muscle strength; protein supplementation; resistance training; walking speed.