Stroke survivor activity during subacute inpatient rehabilitation: how active are patients?

Being active following stroke is recommended, but inactivity is common. The current study aimed to observe stroke survivors physical, social and cognitive activities in a large regional inpatient rehabilitation centre. Patients were observed over 8 separate days at 10-min intervals between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Patients were engaged in any form of activity 59.9% of the time and in therapy 4.6% of the time. Patients were inactive and alone 34.3% of the time. Activity levels were weakly associated with patients' functional abilities (Spearman's ρ≤0.39). Independent walkers spent a higher proportion of the day physically active (37.5%) compared with nonindependent walkers (30.6%) (P=0.019). Days since stroke was not correlated with patient activity levels. Initiatives to increase activity during inpatient rehabilitation appear to be warranted.