Effect of increasing the daily exercise dose from 6 to 9 units on FIM in stroke rehabilitation

[Purpose] In 2006, the upper limit of exercise time was increased from 6 to 9 units in our convalescent rehabilitation ward. We investigated the effect of this increase in training amount in relation to ADL. [Subjects] Subjects were discharged stroke patients of a convalescent rehabilitation ward: 122 who performed 5~6 exercise units in 2005, and 41 who performed 7~9 exercise units from April to September in 2008. [Method] We compared the total scores of the FIM motor items (FIM-M), the increase in FIM-M ((FIM-M: discharge score - admission score), FIM efficiency ((FIM-M/length of stay), and the discharge-to-home rate (Home%) between the two groups. [Results] The group who performed 7~9 exercise units had significantly higher ∂FIM-M, FIM efficiency and Home% than the group who performed 5~6 units. [Conclusion] We consider that the training increase effectively improved ADL.