EFFECTIVENESS OF DUAL-TASK EXERCISES FOR FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY IN POST-STROKE PATIENTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Keywords:
stroke; dual-task training; neurological rehabilitation; functional recovery; gait; balanceAbstract
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46296/gt.v9i18edespsep.0439
Abstract
Stroke is a major cause of disability and may lead to persistent impairments in gait, balance, mobility, and the ability to perform motor and cognitive activities simultaneously. Dual-task exercises have been proposed as a rehabilitation strategy aimed at reproducing the functional demands of everyday activities. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of dual-task exercises for functional recovery in adult patients after stroke. A systematic review of studies published between 2021 and August 2026 was conducted according to PRISMA 2020 recommendations. PubMed/MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and PEDro were searched using keywords combined with the Boolean operators AND and OR. Following identification, duplicate removal, screening, and eligibility assessment, 22 primary studies were included. Risk of bias was assessed using RoB 2 for randomized trials and ROBINS-I for non-randomized studies. Findings showed a favorable trend for dual-task training in selected components of gait, balance, functional mobility, and cognitive-motor performance; however, superiority over conventional rehabilitation or single-task training was not consistent across all outcomes. According to GRADE, certainty of evidence was predominantly low for gait, balance, functional mobility, cognitive-motor performance, and upper-extremity function, and very low for activities of daily living and fall-related outcomes. Dual-task exercises therefore represent a potentially useful complementary strategy in post-stroke rehabilitation when progressively and individually prescribed, although heterogeneity among protocols and limited certainty of evidence prevent establishing an optimal modality and dosage.
Keywords: stroke; dual-task training; neurological rehabilitation; functional recovery; gait; balance.
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