Effectiveness of a Structured Circuit Class therapy model in stroke rehabilitation: A single blind randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Stroke is a debilitating medical and neurological condition. It is the leading cause of adult disability worldwide. Disability from stroke covers the three key classifications of the WHO-ICF framework on human function centred on health and health related issues, implying that the disability in stroke involve structural and activity limitations to participation restriction. Rehabilitation remains the hallmark of managing the plethora of neurological deficits accompanying stroke. Currently, the key advocacy in neuroscientific studies for stroke rehabilitation is that therapy should be directed towards task specificity. Task Specific Training most recently, the form of Circuit Class Therapy and the intensity of multiple repetition of the task has been identified as physiological mechanisms behind sustained motor learning following stroke.Circuit Class Therapy (CCT) is a form of Task Specific Training (TST) that involves the practice of structuring tasks in a circuit or series of workstations. It offers the patient the ability to practice multiple tasks in a conducive environmental because of its three key features of utilisation of different workstations that allow people to practice intensively in a meaningful and progressive way to suit their respective needs; the efficient utilisation of therapists'/trainees' time; and the group dynamics such as peer support and social support. Although these features are attainable following CCT challenges remain in selecting the most efficient intensity that could produce these benefits in stroke survivors. This study investigated the effectiveness of differing intensities of CCT in the rehabilitation of stroke survivors using the ICF framework to guide patients� response assessments after training.