The largest study in the history of rehabilitation after stroke has been found that the performance of physical therapy at home helps to improve the gait of patients, virtually the same efficiency as a program based on high-steppers technology.

The most surprising thing is that patients who began rehabilitation view months ago after his attacks cerebrales improved anyway. It has been long noted that there was little improvement to be achieved in six months rehabilitation after stroke.

“Now we have evidence for the first time, that prolonged therapy will benefit,” said Dr. Jeffrey Saver, director of the stroke center at the University of California, Los Angeles campus. “Virtually all should be doing more intensive therapy than we are doing.”

Saver was not involved in the study conducted federally funded researchers from Duke University and which was discussed Friday at a conference in Los Angeles of the American Stroke Association.

Each year, approximately 800,000 Americans suffer a stroke, and up to two thirds of survivors have trouble walking. Are increasingly used as robots and sophisticated machines treadmills, but there is limited research on how well they work compared to traditional therapy.

Such equipment is popular in leading rehabilitation hospitals and one in Houston, where federal legislator Gabrielle Giffords is served after having been shot in the head.

The new study included 408 stroke survivors who had trouble walking. On average, it is performed 1,700 steps per day and 10,000 steps than normal. They traveled to a prestigious facility rehabilitation or physical therapy received at home. Some started two months rehabilitation after stroke; others started it six months later to see if there was a difference.

In high-tech rehabilitation, patients exercised on treadmills while their weight was supported by a harness over his head. According gained speed and strength, could practice walking on your own.

In the program at home, a physical therapist helped patients perform exercises to improve strength and balance, and walking every day.

After a year, both groups had similar improvements in terms of how far and fast they could walk. However, it was more likely to produce treadmill exercise dizziness or fainting during training, and had a higher risk of falling.

What’s more, fewer patients discontinued therapy at home: 3%, compared with 13% of high-tech group.