Development And Content Validation Of Lower Limb Task-Oriented Exercise Program For Individuals With Sub-Acute Stroke

Abstract

Background:

Post-stroke lower limb dysfunction has a negative impact on functional mobility and walking. A large proportion of patients usually exhibit abnormal kinematic profiles, deviations in temporal characteristics and changes in muscle activation of affected lower limb which thereby  increases the  energy consumption during ambulation.

Objective: To formulate and validate a task-oriented exercise program focusing on the lower limb recovery for individuals who have experienced a subacute stroke.

Materials and Method: The process of content validation involved exercise program development stage followed by expert validation. The Exercise program was structured with 30 exercises in  three progression levels, following an extensive review of existing literature. Following the development of the exercise program, five practicing physiotherapists in  neurological rehabilitation engaged in the process of content validation. This validation process entailed assigning ratings based on a 4-point Likert scale, focusing on two specific criteria: relevance and ease of execution of the exercises. The level of agreement, content validation index, and kappa coefficient were all calculated.

Results: The exercises demonstrated a significant level of agreement on both relevance and ease of performance criteria. The content validity of the exercises for lower limb tasks were deemed satisfactory, with CVI scoring of 0.93, with scores ranging between 0.80 and 1.00. The Modified Kappa values varied between 0.41 and 1.00 for all components. Valuable insights were provided by experts regarding two specific items that were considered challenging.

Conclusion: The validated task-oriented exercise program focusing on lower limb movements for individuals with sub-acute stroke is highly pertinent and facilitates ease of execution. The exercises exhibit strong content validity for their application among the subacute stroke population.