doi: 10.2340/16501977-0166

Objective: To identify the determinants of improvement in walking capacity following therapeutic exercise in chronic stroke survivors. Design: A secondary analysis of data obtained from a prospec-tive, single-blind, randomized controlled intervention trial. Subjects: Sixty-three community-dwelling individuals (mean age = 65 years, age range = 50–87 years) with a chronic stroke (post-stroke duration: mean = 5.5 years, range = 1–28 years). Methods: Subjects were randomized into a leg exercise group (n = 32) or an arm exercise group (n = 31). Subjects in each group underwent 3 1-hour exercise sessions per week for 19 weeks. Walking capacity, cardiorespiratory fitness, isometric knee extensor muscle strength, balance ability, and balance confidence were evaluated before and after the interven-tions. Multiple regression analysis was performed to identify the determinants of improvement in walking capacity. Results: After controlling for age, gender, post-stroke dura-tion, and baseline walking capacity, gain in paretic leg muscle strength and peak oxygen consumption remained independ-ently associated with gain in walking capacity (R2 = 0.229). Conclusion: Enhancement of cardiorespiratory fitness and paretic leg muscle strength are both significant determinants in improving walking capacity among chronic stroke survi-vors. However, the rather weak relationship (R2 = 0.229) in-dicates that other factors not measured in this study may also contribute to the improvement in walking capacity. Key words: cerebrovascular accident, health promotion, physi-cal fitness, rehabilitation, walking