Supervised Home-Based Exercise After Stroke: What 17 Randomized Trials Found

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who work with stroke survivors in home health, outpatient, inpatient rehabilitation or transitional care settings, and who want a quick, evidence-anchored briefing on how supervised home programs compare with centre-based care.

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. Occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, speech-language pathologists, nurses and rehabilitation managers involved in post-discharge stroke care may also find the material relevant.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Introductory

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

This course is based on a single peer-reviewed publication: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials titled Efficacy of Home-Based Physical Exercise in Stroke Survivors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials, published in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

The authors searched PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science from inception through December 2023 for randomized controlled trials comparing professionally supervised, structured home-based rehabilitation with hospital- or centre-based rehabilitation, unsupervised home exercise, education only, or no treatment. Seventeen trials, conducted in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom and China, were combined in the analysis. Outcomes covered everyday self-care ability, lower limb motor function, walking endurance, balance and muscle tone.

Scope of this course

Every statement in this course traces to that one publication. Nothing has been added from other literature, from clinical practice guidelines, or from the writer’s own experience. Where the review reported uncertainty or a limitation, that uncertainty is carried through here rather than smoothed over.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe the population, the intervention and the comparison conditions studied in this systematic review and meta-analysis of home-based rehabilitation after stroke.
2. State which outcomes favoured supervised home-based rehabilitation and which showed no clear difference between groups.
3. Explain the limits the authors identified, including which improvements did and did not reach the smallest change patients typically notice.

1. Start Here: how this course works and what it covers
2. Podcast: Supervised Home Programs After Stroke (about nine minutes)
3. What the Review Asked and Who Was Studied
4. How the Evidence Was Gathered and Judged
5. Where Home Programs Came Out Ahead
6. Balance, Spasticity and the Limits of the Findings
7. What This Could Mean for Post-Discharge Stroke Care
8. Key Takeaways
9. Post-Test and Course Evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 0.5 contact hours (30 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. This course is based on a single peer-reviewed publication: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials titled Efficacy of Home-Based Physical Exercise in Stroke Survivors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials, published in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
2. The authors searched PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science from inception through December 2023 for randomized controlled trials comparing professionally supervised, structured home-based rehabilitation with hospital- or centre-based rehabilitation, unsupervised home exercise, education only, or no treatment. Seventeen trials, conducted in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom and China, were combined in the analysis. Outcomes covered everyday self-care ability, lower limb motor function, walking endurance, balance and muscle tone.
3. Scope of this course
4. Every statement in this course traces to that one publication. Nothing has been added from other literature, from clinical practice guidelines, or from the writer's own experience. Where the review reported uncertainty or a limitation, that uncertainty is carried through here rather than smoothed over.