Therapeutic Exercise for Patients With Stroke

The aim of this prospective, single-centre, non-randomized, single-arm interventional study is to evaluate changes in muscle strength, lower-limb functional capacity, aerobic endurance, and patient satisfaction following participation in the EINTER group-based therapeutic exercise programme in adults with post-stroke impairments admitted to the Long- and Medium-Stay Neurorehabilitation Unit at Hospital Universitario Miguel Servet in Zaragoza, Spain. Participants will be assigned to receive the EINTER programme during their hospital stay. The programme combines supervised aerobic and progressive strength training and is delivered in small groups of up to four patients per physiotherapist for a maximum of four weeks. Functional assessments will be performed before starting the programme and after completion of the intervention or at hospital discharge. Muscle strength will be assessed using the Medical Research Council scale, lower-limb functional capacity using the 30-Second Sit-to-Stand Test, and aerobic endurance and walking capacity using the 2-Minute Walk Test. Participant satisfaction will also be assessed at the end of the programme. There will be no control group or random allocation. Changes in outcomes will therefore be evaluated using within-participant pre-post comparisons.