Mindful Meditation for Chronic Stroke

Summary

Falls have significant consequences for older adults, including fracture, disability, and death (1). Risk factors for falls include both impaired physical and cognitive function (1). Thus, older adults with chronic stroke are at significant risk for falls (2).

Exercise is an evidence-based approach for reducing falls risk, even among those who are living with stroke-related impairments (3,4). More recently, mindfulness based meditation is gaining recognition for its positive impact on both physical and cognitive health (6,7). Thus, the investigators hypothesize that combining exercise with mindful meditation may be greater impact on falls risk reduction as compared with exercise alone. To begin exploring our hypothesis, we will conduct a 12-week proof-of-concept study among 20 older adults with chronic stroke (i.e., suffered their first clinical stroke \> or = 12 months prior to study entry). Participants will be randomly allocated to either: 1) exercise; or 2) exercise + mindfulness based meditation. Outcomes will include measures of mobility, balance, and cognitive function.

1. Rubenstein, L.. Falls in older people: epidemiology, risk factors, and strategies for prevention. Age and Ageing 2006; 35-S2: ii37-ii41. doi:10.1093/ageing/afl084
2. Tyson et al. Balance disability after stroke. Physical Therapy January 2006: 86 (1):30-38
3. Thomas S, et al.Does the 'Otago Exercise Programme' Reduce Mortality and Falls in Older Adults?: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Age Ageing. 2010; 39(6): 681-687.
4. Verheyden G, et al. Interventions for preventing falls in people after stroke. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2013(5).
5. Baer R. Mindfulness Training as a Clinical Intervention: A Conceptual and Empirical Review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 2003; 10(2): 125-143.
6. Grossman P, et al. Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits. A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2004;57(1) 35.

Conditions

• Stroke

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Otago Exercise program

The Otago exercise program (OEP) is an evidence-based falls prevention home-based program. The participants will be instructed by a physiotherapy to do muscle strengthening and balance exercises (to be done 3x/week). The physiotherapist will progress these exercises during 5 home visits to each participant.

BEHAVIORAL

Mindful meditation

Mindful meditation aims to reorient the individual to the present and broaden self awareness by promoting attention to internal experiences such as bodily sensations, thoughts, emotions, sights or sounds. The participants will be instructed in mindful meditation during 6 hour-long education sessions and will be expected to practice with audio meditations 30 minutes 5 times per week.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of British Columbia

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Teresa Liu-Ambrose, Ph.D. · UBC Associate Professor

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

55 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2016-02-29

Primary Completion

2016-08-31

Completion

2016-08-31

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations