From left to right: Frederick van Wijck (Lead), Marilyn Mackay-Lyons (Co-lead), Gillian Mead, Janice Eng, Marie-Louise Bird at the WSO Montreal 2018

Physical activity after stroke is underpinned by a growing body of evidence that demonstrates it can improve a wide range of important physical and psychosocial outcomes related to recovery, as well as reduce the risk of subsequent stroke.  Implementation of physical activity in practice is patchy however – especially in low- and middle income countries, where there are no guidelines for physical activity after stroke.  Poor implementation means that recovery after stroke is likely to be sub-optimal – particularly amongst those living in deprived circumstances.

This new ISRRA working group, with committed topic experts from around the world, aims to break through this implementation impasse.  Our first aim is to co-create the first global, stroke-specific guideline on physical activity after stroke, accompanied by recommendations for implementation and strategies for communication and engagement.  Thereafter, we will endeavour to develop guideline-based accessible toolkits to implement physical activity across the stroke care pathway, achieve consensus on service provider competencies, and design educational resources for service providers and service users to enhance implementation.  We look forward to working under the auspices of ISRRA as we set to work!