ABSTRACT
Stroke involves the alteration of blood ow to part of the brain with a subsequent loss of neurological function. One of the major consequences of this pathology, which strikes almost 800,000 Americans each year,1 is muscle weakness. Although predominant on the side of the body contralateral to the stroke, weakness is also present on the ipsilateral side.2 The weakness is probably most obvious in the limbs, but it is present in the trunk as well.3 Given the everyday role that muscle strength plays in accelerating, maintaining, and decelerating the body and its segments in space, it should not be surprising that the muscle strength of individuals with stroke is related to their performance of functional activities such as standing from sitting,4 walking,5-6 and climbing stairs.7 Whether muscle strength was limited before the stroke, impaired by the stroke itself, or reduced by limited activity following the stroke, it follows that rehabilitation professionals would seek to increase the muscle strength of patients who are weak following a stroke. The purpose of this chapter on resistance exercise for patients with stroke, therefore, is to briey describe and discuss (1) resistance exercise interventions that have been used and (2) the outcomes associated with the interventions.
