Effectiveness of standard neurophysiotherapy and group exercise on depression and anxiety after stroke

Abstract

Background. Therapeutic exercise is effective for the improvement of depression and anxiety after stroke. It is necessary to explore the methods that will be most effective in appropriate clinical settings. This study aims to determine the effects of integrating the standard neurophysiotherapy program with additional group exercises, for 3 weeks, on the improvement of depression and anxiety. Methods. A randomized quasi-experimental study was conducted on an appropriate sample of participants in the control (n = 51) and experimental (n = 51) groups. The control group received the standard neurophysiotherapy and the treatment group received the standard neurophysiotherapy plus an additional 3-times-a-week group exercise. The outcome measures were assessed at baseline and after 3 weeks. The differences between the experimental and control groups were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test, and the risk of p < 0.05 was accepted as the level of significance. Results. The results of the study showed positive effects in both groups. However, the results of all tested variables were statistically significantly better in the experimental group: depression (Z = −4.647, p = 0.000), anxiety (Z = −5.463, p = 0.000). Conclusion. Standard neurophysiotherapy with additional 3-times-a-week exercising led to a significant improvement in depression and anxiety, and can be recommended in clinical application in stroke patients during hospital rehabilitation.