Stroke Survivors Can Be Aided By Treadmill Workouts

Boston (dbTechno) - According to a new study, stroke survivors who workout on a treadmill can improve both tehir brain function and fitness.

The study was conducted by Dr. Andreas Luft from the University of Zurich in Switzerland, as well as researchers from Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland, as well as the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

For the study, they looked at a total of 71 stroke survivors.  All who took part in the study had an average age of 63.  On average, they began treadmill workouts 50 months after having a stroke.

They split them up into two groups, with 37 people working out on a treadmill three times each week, and 34 going through more traditional rehab with regular exercise.

They followed them for a period of six months, and found that those who took part in the treadmill workouts improved their walking velocity by 51%, compared to 11% who did not do the treadmill workouts.

Those on the treadmill also saw their cardiovascular fitness improve by 18%, compared to 3% of the other group.

On top of that, they also found improvement in brain function for the stroke survivors who took part in the treadmill workouts.

The study has been published in the August 29 issue of the journal Stroke.