Our friends over at PT-Helper have a great blog post today showcasing exercises for stroke patients. This is near and dear to our heart as we work hard to help those who have suffered from a stroke cycle on the Excy arm ergometer as part of their exercise program. So, we were excited to see PT-Helper showcase how to use Excy as a hand cycle on the bed or floor as part of their suggested exercises for stroke patients to work on hand therapy.

We were first introduced to the power of arm cycling when we met Luke, a young man with a pediatric stroke who uses Excy as an upper body and lower body ergometer to cycle his legs and his arms.

Luke Pedaling Arms and Legs with Excy

Arm Cycling Post Stroke

Research has shown cycling on an arm ergometer is a useful tool for rehabilitation. Occupational therapist will often use an arm bicycle to improve arm strength in stroke patients and increase intensity by turning up the cycle’s resistance or by increasing the amount of time before a rest break. The goal is to strengthen the arms to participate in more functional tasks. Occupational therapist will often also suggest leg bikes for bilateral training and strengthening.

In fact, research has found that arm and leg cycling is similar to walking in terms of the muscle activation patterns and joint ranges of motion. With Excy, you can do both with a very high quality cycling experience anywhere, anytime. The Excy Mobile Coach offers interval training guidance to make training fun and easier to follow. In fact, after we worked with Luke, we introduced a guided workout interval clock in our mobile coaching application to prompt riders to pedal backwards and forwards.

Other Exercises for Stroke Patients

PT-Helper did a wonderful job of sharing other useful exercises for stroke patients. Here’s a quick overview, but jump on over to their blog to read more.