Cardiovascular and Metabolic Strain during Stochastic Resonance Therapy in Stroke Patients

Background: Hypertension as one of the established risk factors for stroke can damage vessels. Therefore training with strenuous exercises that might cause very high blood pressure should be avoided in patients with stroke. Objective: Treatment with Stochastic Resonance Therapy (SRT) as a special form of whole-body-vibration can increase force and balance. The aim of this study was to investigate the physical strain for patients with stroke during SRT. Methods: In a cross-sectional study 20 patients with a recent stroke performed a SRT with an individual sub-maximum vibration-frequency. Training consisted of 5 series of 1 minute each with 1 minute rest in-between. Blood pressure, heart rate and lactate were measured before ( at rest) and during SRT. Results: The heart rate varied randomly between 93 and 101 beats/minute. Mean blood pressure at rest (131/90mm Hg) rose slightly up to the value after the first series (140/98mmHg) and fluctuated randomly on this level during the 5 series. The lactate varied between 1.8 - 1.9 mmol/l over all series. Conclusion: Strain caused by SRT is comparable to cardiovascular and metabolic strain between values during rest and the aerobic threshold.