Media Release
September 8 2010
Researching the road to recovery for stroke sufferers
With
60,000 Australians expected to suffer from a stroke this year alone, a
new study aims to find the best approach to rehabilitation to help
sufferers recover more quickly and reduce their stay in hospital.
After a stroke, people going through rehabilitation need as much
physical therapy as possible to achieve the best results. Now
UniSA researchers have been
awarded a grant by the National
Health and Medical Research Council to investigate a variety of
approaches so that patients recover independence and get home as quickly
as possible.
The CIRCIT (Circuit class therapy for Increasing Rehabilitation
Intensity of Therapy) trial, led by UniSA’s
Dr Susan Hillier, will compare usual care services operating five
days a week, therapy for seven days a week instead of the usual five,
and group circuit class therapy, which was shown to dramatically
increase the amount of therapy people receive in a recent pilot in South
Australia.
Dr Hillier, of UniSA’s School of
Health Sciences, says that the study will measure how quickly
patients recover their ability to walk and use their arms, how quickly
patients can leave hospital and which approach might be the most
cost-effective.
“Patients may become independent faster, which is a huge drive after
such a devastating impact on their lives,” says Dr Hillier.
“It’s easy to forget that rehabilitation inpatients may receive only two
or three hours of therapy a day, five days a week, so people can become
bored and frustrated at being in hospital without much to do. Increased
therapy may be able to ease some of this frustration.
“It’s exciting that South Australia is leading the way with this novel
trial. All three major South Australian public rehabilitation centres
(Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre, Repatriation General Hospital and St
Margaret’s Rehabilitation Hospital) are involved, with UniSA’s
Dr Coralie English co-ordinating the trial sites.
“The first four participants have been recruited to the trial through
Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre, with the other two sites recruiting
now. The trial will also expand to include hospitals in Victoria,” says
Dr Hillier.
During the trial, stroke sufferers in rehabilitation will be randomly
assigned to either usual care therapy over five days a week, usual care
therapy over seven days a week or group circuit class therapy for up to
three hours a day, five days a week.
Media contact
- Rachel Broadley office (08) 8302 0096 mobile 0434 078 819 email rachel.broadley@unisa.edu.au