A systematic review 1 including 151 studies with a total of approximately 9100 subjects was abstracted in DARE. Effect sizes of functional outcomes for task-orientated exercise training for the restoration of balance and gait and for strengthening the lower paretic limb ranged from SES 0.13 (95% CI: 0.03, 0.23; 20 RCTs with 2,686 patients) for high-intensity exercise training to SES 0.92 (95% CI: 0.54, 1.29; 4 RCTs with 128 patients) for improving symmetry when moving from sitting to standing. Positive outcomes were reported for physical therapies targeting functional training of the upper limb: e.g. constraint-induced movement therapies (SES 0.46, 95% CI: 0.07, reported as 0.91 in the abstract and 0.85 in a table; 5 RCTs with 104 patients), treadmill training with body weight support (SES 0.70, 95% CI: 0.29, 1.10; 3 RCTs with 148 patients), treadmill training without body weight support therapies (SES 1.09, 95% CI: 0.56, 1.61; 2 RCTs with 65 patients), aerobics (SES 0.39, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.74; 2 RCTs with 135 patients), external auditory rhythms during gait (SES 0.91, 95% CI: 0.40, 1.42; 3 RCTs with 67 patients) and neuromuscular stimulation for glenohumeral subluxation (SES 1.41, 95% CI: 0.76, 2.06; 4 RCTs with 161 patients).
Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by limitations in review methodology (control interventions were not reported, and the multiplicity of measures used to assess the outcomes has the potential for selective reporting of results).
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