Vol. 2, Issue 2, Part A (2025)

Background: Chronic stroke survivors frequently experience persistent gait and balance impairments that limit community ambulation and participation. Task-oriented circuit training (TOCT) offers a practical means of delivering high-repetition, functionally relevant practice within usual physiotherapy resources, but evidence specific to community-dwelling chronic stroke populations remains limited.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of TOCT compared with conventional physiotherapy in improving gait, balance and community ambulation status in individuals with chronic stroke.

Methods: In this single-blind randomized controlled trial, 60 community-dwelling adults ≥6 months post first-ever unilateral stroke were allocated to either TOCT (n = 30) or conventional physiotherapy (n = 30). Both groups received 60-minute supervised sessions, three times per week for eight weeks. The TOCT programme comprised 8-10 progressive functional stations targeting overground walking, obstacle negotiation, stair climbing, sit-to-stand, multidirectional stepping, balance and endurance. The control group received dose-matched impairment-based therapy and non-structured gait and balance exercises. Primary outcomes were gait speed (10-m walk test) and walking capacity (6-min walk test). Secondary outcomes included Berg Balance Scale, balance confidence and proportion of participants classified as community ambulators (gait speed ≥0.8 m/s). Assessments were conducted at baseline and post-intervention by blinded assessors, and data were analysed using intention-to-treat principles.

Results: Compared with conventional physiotherapy, TOCT produced significantly greater improvements in gait speed (mean change +0.24 vs +0.09 m/s; between-group difference 0.15 m/s, p < 0.001) and 6-min walk distance (+70 vs +24 m; between-group difference 46 m, p < 0.001). TOCT also yielded larger gains in Berg Balance Scale (+7.8 vs +2.4 points, p < 0.001) and balance confidence (+13 vs +4 points, p = 0.002). The proportion of community ambulators increased from 20.0% to 56.7% in the TOCT group versus 23.3% to 33.3% in controls (p = 0.042).

Conclusion: Task-oriented circuit training is superior to conventional physiotherapy for enhancing gait, balance and community ambulation in chronic stroke survivors. Integrating structured, progressive circuit-based programmes into routine rehabilitation may offer an efficient, scalable strategy to improve long-term mobility and functional independence after stroke.