Addressing Arm Non-use by Encouraging Idle-time Activity During Early Recovery From Stroke

Part of paid clinical trials in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.

Sponsor: Marquette University
Study ID: NCT05900999
Status: Completed

Conditions

Exercise
Stroke

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: ALL
Age: 18 Years - N/A
Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Feasibility of idle time exercise — BEHAVIORAL
The experiments in this proposal will assess the utility and subjective patient experience performing idle time exercise intervention designed to reduce learned non-use of the hemiparetic arm in the days, and weeks immediately following stroke. Exercise will be cued by wearable technology that provides vibrotactile cues similar to those provided by FitBit devices. Participants will be asked to perform simple exercises after receiving a vibration cue. In the first four sessions they will tap the more-involved wrist; in the second four sessions they will passively move the more-involved elbow through a range of motion; in the final four sessions they will actively move the more-involved elbow through a range of motion. Accelerometers in the wearable devices will monitor motion of the wrist during the exercise sessions. We will interview the participants two months later regarding how well they use the more-involved arm to perform daily activities.

Study Details

This project evaluates the feasibility of using custom wearable technology and associated procedures to increase activity of the more-involved upper extremity during the earliest stages of recovery from stroke by increasing the amount of therapeutic exercise during idle-time. The proposed research is relevant to public health because it takes steps to mitigate a significant problem in physical rehabilitation using low-cost technology to motivate and monitor idle-time exercise without adding significantly to clinician workloads. The project aligns with the NICHD / NCMRR Research Plan on Rehabilitation by exploiting a mobile health (mHealth) and sensor-based approach to promote health and wellness through participant-engaged, data-driven, individualized care.