When reporting the results of an exercise intervention, it is important that the precise principles of the exercise training are consistently and accurately reported. Thus, the available literature suggests that impaired physical fitness is partly responsible for the disability evident in stroke survivors. Still, several systematic reviews and meta-analyses provide evidence that aerobic exercise and resistive strength training are beneficial to improve aerobic capacity, walking distance, muscular strength and physical function in stroke survivors without increasing pain or tone in the paretic limbs –. Although several exercise recommendations have been published –, the complex interactions present in stroke rehabilitation preclude the definition of specific, detailed exercise prescriptions. All of these render the development of exercise training programs for stroke rehabilitation a complex enterprise. Physical fitness includes health-related (cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility and body composition) and skill-related components (agility, coordination, balance, speed, reaction time and power).
Disability - manifested by impairment of body function or body structure, activity limitation and/or participation restriction - results in poor physical fitness, defined as “the ability to carry out daily tasks with vigor and alertness, without undue fatigue, and with ample energy to enjoy leisure-time pursuits and respond to emergencies”. Approximately 50-70% of persons with stroke regain functional independence, but 15-30% of the stroke survivors are left with permanent disability. The difference by 2025 will be ± 150 000 stroke events when compared with stable rates. Due to demographic shifts in the global population, the number of affected people will increase, even with stable stroke incidence rates from approximately 1.1 million per year in 2000 to 1.5 million per year by 2025. Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability and death worldwide.