Recruiting

Balance & Gait

Sponsor:

University Health Network, Toronto

Code:

NCT04069481

Conditions

Chronic Stroke

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 0+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Dance

Mindfulness meditation and Exercise

Study Details

Brief summary:

Stroke can drastically impact the ability to walk and keep your balance. In addition people with chronic stroke feel social isolated, become less satisfied with their walking and lose confidence in their ability to move without falling.

Ned new treatments are needed for walking and balance. Dancing is a fun, social activity that has similar benefits to traditional exercise. Another benefit of dancing is the use of music, which improves mood, increases motivation and can even improve motor performance. Finally, moving in synchrony with other people during dancing can make people feel connected. We believe that dance classes can benefit people with stroke, but few studies have been done.

The objective of our project is to conduct a randomized controlled trial to test whether dance can improve balance and walking for people with chronic stroke. The investigators are also interested in whether dancing improves people's confidence in their ability to do activities without losing their balance (i.e. balance confidence), decreases their feelings of isolation and increases their quality of life.

Conditions

Chronic Stroke

Study ID

NCT04069481

Start date

Jan 1, 2019

Status verified date

Aug, 2019

Completion date

Dec 31, 2021

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 31, 2021

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 0+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

1. > 6 months post stroke
2. Ability to transfer sit to stand and stand to sit with minimal use of arm rests
3. Ability to stand without physical support from an aid or another person for 30 seconds
4. Ability to walk 10m without physical assistance from a walking device, but with standby assistance from another person if needed
5. Ability to follow 2-3 step instructions with minimal prompting from another person
6. Have received clearance from their physician to participate in exercise.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Severe hearing loss
2. Pre-existing conditions that significantly impact gait and balance (e.g. osteoarthritis)
3. Other neurological conditions that impact gait and balance (e.g. PD).
4. Have participated in a dance class within the past 12 months

Study Design

Enrollment

136 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Dance intervention

Participants will receive a 1-hour group dance class twice a week for 12 weeks. Classes will include a seated warm up, dance exercises in standing, dance activities moving across the floor, throughout the space and conclude with a bow exercise. Music and dance styles will vary and personal preference of participants will also be taken into account.

active comparator: Exercise and mindfulness meditation

Participants will receive a 1-hour group exercise class twice a week for 12 weeks. Classes will include resistance training exercises with resistance bands, stretching and range of motion exercises in seated and standing positions. Classes will also include mindfulness exercises. During active exercises music will be played and personal preference of participant will be taken into account.

Interventions

Dance

One-hour class, twice a week. Classes include dance warm up exercises, various dance movements and choreography that include coordinated whole body movements through space synchronized to music.

Mindfulness meditation and Exercise

One hour class, twice a week. Classes include upper and lower extremity stretching and resistance exercises and mindfulness meditation, that includes body scan technique and breathing exercises.

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in balance [ Time Frame: at study completion on average 14 weeks ]
  • Change in gait speed [ Time Frame: at study completion on average 14 weeks ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Wade Michaelchuk, MSc

416-597-3422wade.michaelchuk@uhn.ca

Locations

Toronto Rehabilitation Institute

Recruiting

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 2A2

Contacts

Wade Michaelchuk, MSc

416-597-3422wade.michaelchuk@uhn.ca

More Information

Sponsor

University Health Network, Toronto

Last update posted

Aug 28, 2019

Last verified

Aug, 2019

Keywords

  • Dance
  • Stroke
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Rehabilitation
  • Gait
  • Balance

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University Health Network, Toronto on 2019-08-28.