A community-based exercise intervention to reduce functional risk factors for injury among stroke survivors in South Korea: a pilot randomized controlled trial

Stroke survivors living in the community often experience persistent impairments in muscle strength, balance, mobility, and cardiorespiratory fitness after hospital discharge, which increase vulnerability during daily activities. This pilot randomized controlled trial evaluated the feasibility of a supervised, circuit-based community exercise program and explored its potential effects on functional outcomes related to injury risk. Twenty community-dwelling adults with chronic stroke were randomized to an exercise group (EXG; n = 10) or a control group (CNG; n = 10), and 17 participants (EXG: n = 8; CNG: n = 9) completed the study. The EXG participated in a supervised multicomponent exercise program twice weekly for 8 weeks, while the CNG maintained usual activities. Outcomes included muscle strength, cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility, balance, respiratory function, and physical performance. Between-group differences were analyzed using analysis of covariance adjusting for baseline values. The intervention showed high adherence with no adverse events. Exploratory analyses indicated improvements in multiple functional domains in the EXG compared with the CNG, although some outcomes did not reach statistical significance after adjustment. These findings support the feasibility and safety of community-based exercise and suggest potential benefits for improving functional risk factors associated with safe mobility after stroke. Larger trials are needed to confirm these results.