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In the United States, 5 million individuals are currently livingwith the consequences of stroke, such as limited mobility,decreased independence in activities in daily life, and reducedparticipation in society. Now, researchers have found that thesepatients might benefit from adapted yoga. Researchers from the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center inIndianapolis, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis andIU Bloomington, enrolled older veterans recovering from stroke to participate in the study in order to determine whether aneight-week adapted yoga program would benefit them. Study participants had completed their post-stroke occupational and physical therapy prior to the study, but continued to have impairments. The findings from two new analyses of the study will be presentedon Wednesday during the annual meeting of the American College ofSports Medicine in San Francisco. Following a stroke, it is common for individuals to experience lossof functional strength, flexibility and endurance, said ArleneSchmid, rehabilitation research scientist at the Roudebush VAMedical Center and lead researcher of the VA-Funded study. Schmid, who is also an assistant professor of occupational therapyin the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at IUPIU,explained: "Clinicians need methods to manage and improve thesepost-stroke physical impairments." In the first analysis, "Physical Improvements After Yoga for People With Chronic Stroke" , Schmid set out to determine whether yoga could improveflexibility, functional strength and endurance in stroke patients.She found that yoga significantly improved all these areas. Schmid explained that the yoga activities might have "improvedneuromuscular control, like allowing for strength improvements inaffected limbs, sides or areas of disuse." In the second analysis "The Effect of Balance Exercise Therapy onGait Parameters in Individuals With Chronic Stroke", Tracy Dierks,associate professor of physical therapy in the School of Health andRehabilitation Sciences, focused on how well study participantswere able to walk after the program. Dierks found that study participants showed improved balance andfaster gait speeds with longer steps or strides after completingthe yoga program. However, although the participants were able towalk at a faster pace, they were unable to sustain this pace forthe durations of the six-minute test. Dierks explained: "The gait findings from our study have the potential to greatlyimpact clinical practice for gait recovery. The yoga interventionwas designed to improve balance, not gait; we did not focus onimproving gait at all. Yet we saw major improvements in mostclinical gait measurements. But one often overlooked deficitremained: the inability to sustain gait speed for endurance." According to Schmid, it might be appropriate to include yoga in thein-patient or out-patient rehabilitation people receive aftersuffering a stroke. This type of class should be taught by a yogatherapist who is also trained in anatomy and physiology and how towork with individuals with disabilities. Written By Grace Rattue Copyright: Medical News Today Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Additional References Citations. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Discounted Michael Kors Watches , Silicone Geneva Watch for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Silicone Ice Watch.
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