At the beginning of the 21st century, the famous Latin sentence mens sana in corpore sano from the Roman poet Juvenal (late 1st and early 2nd centuries) may be of greatest neurological importance than previously expected. Indeed, a number of epidemiological and case-control studies have suggested that physical activity may decrease stroke incidence,1 while more recently it was suggested that regular physical activity may also decrease stroke severity and improve long-term outcome after stroke.2 3

In the paper by Stroud et al (see page 1019), such beneficial effects of physical activity on both initial deficit and outcome are confirmed.4 …