Angie Logan
NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellow and Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist Stroke and Neurology in West Cornwall, UK
Title: Standing Practice In Rehabilitation Early after Stroke (SPIRES)
Biography
Biography: Angie Logan
Abstract
People with severe stroke experience significant muscle weakness which means that they spend much of their time in bed or sitting. This inactivity can cause their muscles to become even weaker and stiffer and may lead them to experience sudden drops in blood pressure when they move from lying to standing (orthostatic hypotension (OH)). This further interferes with their ability to participate in intensive stroke rehabilitation, overall recovery and quality of life. Currently physiotherapy for people with severe stroke concentrates on practising tasks such as getting in and out of bed into a chair that are important for independence and achieving safe discharge home. Standing up early after a stroke may help strengthen muscles, reduce OH and minimise or prevent muscles becoming stiff and weaker. This trial aims to assess whether it is possible for people with severe stroke to use a standing frame to practise functional movements such as standing and moving between sitting and standing during their hospital-based rehabilitation. Fifty people with a severe stroke will be recruited from four different Stroke Rehabilitation Units in Cornwall and Devon. Using a computer programme, participants will be randomly allocated to either (1) functional standing frame programme (30 minutes) and 15 minutes of usual physiotherapy, or (2) 45 minutes of usual physiotherapy only. They will have one physiotherapy session per day, with a target of a minimum of five times per week for three weeks