StrokeNCT04219696
Determining the Optimal Dose of Reactive Balance Training After Stroke
A study testing Reactive balance training in people with Stroke, run by Toronto Rehabilitation Institute at 1 site in Canada.
Trial summary
Falls in daily life are one of the most significant complications for people with stroke. Fall rates are particularly high soon after discharge from stroke rehabilitation. A new type of balance training, called reactive balance training (RBT), can reduce fall rates after discharge from stroke rehabilitation. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 130 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Stroke
- What is being tested?
- Reactive balance training
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 36 participants
- Where
- 1 siteCanada
- Study dates
- 20 Aug 2020to 22 Oct 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 130 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Sub-acute stroke;
- Receiving out-patient rehabilitation at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute;
- Can stand independently for >30 seconds;
- Can walk with or without a gait aid (but without assistance of another person) for >10 metres; and
- Living in the community.
Who cannot join
- Completed reactive balance training during in-patient rehabilitation;
- Lower-extremity amputation, weight-bearing restrictions, recent lower-extremity injury or surgery (e.g., fracture), acute back or lower-limb pain, halo, aspen collar, history of fragility fracture and/or severe osteoporosis/osteopenia, contractures that prevent neutral hip or ankle;
- Activity restrictions following cardiac event/surgery, abnormal or unstable cardiovascular responses to exercise, arterial dissection;
- Severe spasticity in the legs;
- Cognitive impairment (i.e., unable to understand the purpose of training and/or to provide informed consent); and/or
- Acute illness (e.g., vomiting, fever), extreme obesity (exceeds safety harness weight limits), colostomy bags, indwelling catheter, infection, pressure sore on pelvis or trunk.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Determining the Optimal Dose of Reactive Balance Training After Stroke - a Pilot Study
Falls in daily life are one of the most significant complications for people with stroke. Fall rates are particularly high soon after discharge from stroke rehabilitation. A new type of balance training, called reactive balance training (RBT), can reduce fall rates after discharge from stroke rehabilitation. In our previous study, RBT was implemented as part of routine care, and as a result, the dose of training was different for each participant; participants completed between one and twelve 30-minute sessions of RBT. Previous research in healthy older adults suggests that a single session of RBT is enough to lead to lasting changes in reactive balance control and reduce fall rates in daily life. It is not clear if the same is true for people with stroke, who have more severe impairments and might need a higher dose of training to achieve the same benefits.
The overall goal of this work is to determine the optimal dose of reactive balance training for people with stroke who are attending rehabilitation. This pilot study will determine the feasibility of a clinical trial to address this larger goal. People with sub-acute stroke will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: 1 session, 3 sessions, or 6 sessions of RBT. Each session will be 45 minutes long, and will occur as part of participants' routine out-patient rehabilitation. We will use our experiences with this pilot study to help design a larger study. Specifically, we will use this pilot study to answer the following questions: 1) what is the optimal sample size; 2) how long will it take to reach this sample size; 3) what outcome measures should be used; 4) how feasible is it to prescribe a specific dose of RBT to people with sub-acute stroke; and 5) what two intervention groups should be included in the larger trial?
- Conditions
- Stroke
- Being tested
- Reactive balance training
- Medical subject headings
- Stroke
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Reactive balance trainingOther
A research physiotherapist will oversee reactive balance training (RBT) to ensure consistent RBT delivery across participants. Training strategies will be individualized to each participant, based on their balance impairments and rehabilitation goals. The RBT program includes multi-directional 'internal' and 'external' balance perturbations. Internal perturbations are achieved by asking the participant to complete tasks that challenge balance control, such that they lose balance when attempting to perform the task (e.g., kicking a soccer ball). External perturbation are delivered manually using a push or pull from the physiotherapist. As participants improve their reactive balance control, difficulty will be increased by shifting task requirements along a continuum from stable to mobile, and from predictable to unpredictable, and by increasing perturbation magnitude or imposing sensory or environmental challenges.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| 1 session | Active comparator | Participants will complete one 45-minute session of reactive balance training. Participants will experience 40-60 perturbations during this session. Participants will also complete 5 45-minute 'traditional' balance training sessions. Receives: Other: Reactive balance training |
| 3 sessions | Experimental | Participants will complete three 45-minute sessions of reactive balance training. Participants will experience 40-60 perturbations during each session. Participants will also complete 3 45-minute 'traditional' balance training sessions. Receives: Other: Reactive balance training |
| 6 sessions | Experimental | Participants will complete six 45-minute sessions of reactive balance training. Participants will experience 40-60 perturbations during each session. Receives: Other: Reactive balance training |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Rate of falls in daily life
Participants will be asked to report falls ("an event that results in a person coming to rest unintentionally on the ground or other lower level") in the 6 months post-training. Participants will be provided with stamped, addressed postcards to mail to the research team every 2 weeks for 6 months post-training. Postcards will contain a calendar, on which participants will record falls. The research assistant will call participants who do not return the postcard to determine if any falls occurred. The research assistant will contact participants reporting a fall to complete a short questionnaire determining the cause and consequences of the fall.
Measured: 6 months post-discharge
Secondary outcomes (3)
Rate of accrual
Number of participants recruited per month
Measured: Through study completion, an average of 18 months
Rate of missing data
Number of complete datasets for each of the other pre-specified outcomes
Measured: Through study completion, an average of 18 months
Compliance with the intervention
Number of prescribed training sessions attended
Measured: Through study completion, an average of 18 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted7 Jan 2020
- Study start20 Aug 2020
- Primary completion22 Oct 2025
- Study completion22 Oct 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for StrokeStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 36 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Toronto Rehabilitation Institute
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Avril Mansfield, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute
- Investigators
- Avril Mansfield, PhD, Principal investigator, University Health Network, Toronto
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04219696
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 19-6001
- Status last verified
- Mar 2025
- First submitted
- 17 Dec 2019
- Last updated
- 29 Sep 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Publications
Mansfield A, Inness EL, Danells CJ, Jagroop D, Bhatt T, Huntley AH. Determining the optimal dose of reactive balance training after stroke: study protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open. 2020 Aug 26;10(8):e038073. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038073.
PubMed 32847916
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 29 Sep 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Determining the Optimal Dose of Reactive Balance Training After Stroke - a Pilot Study
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04219696
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 19-6001
- Conditions
- Stroke
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 36 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Toronto Rehabilitation InstituteUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
- Study start
- 20 Aug 2020 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 22 Oct 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 22 Oct 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 7 Jan 2020 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Falls in daily life are one of the most significant complications for people with stroke. Fall rates are particularly high soon after discharge from stroke rehabilitation. A new type of balance training, called reactive balance training (RBT), can reduce fall rates after discharge from stroke rehabilitation. In our previous study, RBT was implemented as part of routine care, and as a result, the dose of training was different for each participant; participants completed between one and twelve 30-minute sessions of RBT. Previous research in healthy older adults suggests that a single session of RBT is enough to lead to lasting changes in reactive balance control and reduce fall rates in daily life. It is not clear if the same is true for people with stroke, who have more severe impairments and might need a higher dose of training to achieve the same benefits.
The overall goal of this work is to determine the optimal dose of reactive balance training for people with stroke who are attending rehabilitation. This pilot study will determine the feasibility of a clinical trial to address this larger goal. People with sub-acute stroke will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: 1 session, 3 sessions, or 6 sessions of RBT. Each session will be 45 minutes long, and will occur as part of participants' routine out-patient rehabilitation. We will use our experiences with this pilot study to help design a larger study. Specifically, we will use this pilot study to answer the following questions: 1) what is the optimal sample size; 2) how long will it take to reach this sample size; 3) what outcome measures should be used; 4) how feasible is it to prescribe a specific dose of RBT to people with sub-acute stroke; and 5) what two intervention groups should be included in the larger trial?
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 3
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| 1 session | Active comparator | Other: Reactive balance trainingParticipants will complete one 45-minute session of reactive balance training. Participants will experience 40-60 perturbations during this session. Participants will also complete 5 45-minute 'traditional' balance training sessions. |
| 3 sessions | Experimental | Other: Reactive balance trainingParticipants will complete three 45-minute sessions of reactive balance training. Participants will experience 40-60 perturbations during each session. Participants will also complete 3 45-minute 'traditional' balance training sessions. |
| 6 sessions | Experimental | Other: Reactive balance trainingParticipants will complete six 45-minute sessions of reactive balance training. Participants will experience 40-60 perturbations during each session. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 130 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Sub-acute stroke;
- Receiving out-patient rehabilitation at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute;
- Can stand independently for >30 seconds;
- Can walk with or without a gait aid (but without assistance of another person) for >10 metres; and
- Living in the community.
Key exclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Completed reactive balance training during in-patient rehabilitation;
- Lower-extremity amputation, weight-bearing restrictions, recent lower-extremity injury or surgery (e.g., fracture), acute back or lower-limb pain, halo, aspen collar, history of fragility fracture and/or severe osteoporosis/osteopenia, contractures that prevent neutral hip or ankle;
- Activity restrictions following cardiac event/surgery, abnormal or unstable cardiovascular responses to exercise, arterial dissection;
- Severe spasticity in the legs;
- Cognitive impairment (i.e., unable to understand the purpose of training and/or to provide informed consent); and/or
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Reactive balance trainingA research physiotherapist will oversee reactive balance training (RBT) to ensure consistent RBT delivery across participants. Training strategies will be individualized to each participant, based on their balance impairments and rehabilitation goals. The RBT program includes multi-directional 'internal' and 'external' balance perturbations. Internal perturbations are achieved by asking the participant to complete tasks that challenge balance control, such that they lose balance when attempting to perform the task (e.g., kicking a soccer ball). External perturbation are delivered manually using a push or pull from the physiotherapist. As participants improve their reactive balance control, difficulty will be increased by shifting task requirements along a continuum from stable to mobile, and from predictable to unpredictable, and by increasing perturbation magnitude or imposing sensory or environmental challenges. | Other | 1 session, 3 sessions, 6 sessions |
Primary outcome
Rate of falls in daily life
Time frame: 6 months post-discharge
Participants will be asked to report falls ("an event that results in a person coming to rest unintentionally on the ground or other lower level") in the 6 months post-training. Participants will be provided with stamped, addressed postcards to mail to the research team every 2 weeks for 6 months post-training. Postcards will contain a calendar, on which participants will record falls. The research assistant will call participants who do not return the postcard to determine if any falls occurred. The research assistant will contact participants reporting a fall to complete a short questionnaire determining the cause and consequences of the fall.
3 secondary outcomes
Rate of accrual
Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 18 months
Rate of missing data
Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 18 months
Compliance with the intervention
Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 18 months
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 29 Sep 2026.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 32847916Mansfield A, Inness EL, Danells CJ, Jagroop D, Bhatt T, Huntley AH. Determining the optimal dose of reactive balance training after stroke: study protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open. 2020 Aug 26;10(8):e038073. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038073.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Avril Mansfield, PhD principal investigator
University Health Network, Toronto
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Reactive balance training in people with Stroke, run by Toronto Rehabilitation Institute at 1 site in Canada.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 6 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 29 Sep 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Canada. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Rate of falls in daily life (time frame: 6 months post-discharge). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT04219696, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 29 Sep 2026.