Characteristics of the studies included
| Study, year | No of participants with follow-up data | Age (years)* | Gender male/female | Treatment | Main outcome† | Duration (weeks) | No of treatment sessions | Total duration of treatment (h) | Providers | Setting | ||||
| Int | Ctr | Int | Ctr | Int | Ctr | Int | Ctr | |||||||
| Wall and Turnbull,21 1987 | 15 | 5 | 45–70 | NA | NI | Untreated | SDW normalised by stature | 26 | 52 | 52 | PT and family (spouse or companion) | Mixed (outpatient, home) | ||
| Wade et al,24 1992 | 48 | 41 | 72.3 (9.7) | 72.0 (10.6) | 27/22 | 20/25 | FA NI AE | Untreated | SDW | 13 | Mean 4, range 1–11 | NA | PT | Home |
| Werner and Kessler,22 1996 | 28 | 12 | 66 (13) | 59 (9) | 14/14 | 5/7 | NI MS | Untreated | FIM-mm | 12 | 48 | 96 | Multidisciplinary staff (PT+OT) | Outpatient‡ |
| Teixeira-Salmela et al,261999 | 6 | 7 | 65.8 (10.2) | 69.4 (8.8) | 1/5 | 6/1 | MS FA | Untreated | SDW | 10 | 30 | 30–45 | Multidisciplinary staff (PT+EP) | Outpatient |
| Kim et al,29 2001 | 10 | 10 | 60.4 (9.5) | 61.9 (7.5) | 7/3 | 7/3 | MS | Passive range of motion | SDW | 6 | 18 | 13.5 | PT | Outpatient |
| Green et al,23 2002 | 81 | 80 | 71.5 (8.7) | 73.5 (8.3) | 49/36 | 46/39 | FA NI | Untreated | RMI | 3–13 contacts | Median 3, range 0–22 (five participants were evaluated, but were not treated) | NA. Individual treatment duration averaged 44 min | PT | Mixed (outpatient, home) |
| Ada et al,30 2003 | 13 | 14 | 66 (11) | 66 (11) | 9/4 | 10/4 | NI | Sham home exercise programme | SDW | 4 | 12 | 6 | PT | Outpatient |
| Lin et al,27 2004 | 9 | 10 | 61.4 (11.2) | 62.8 (9.4) | 7/2 | 6/4 | NI FA | Untreated | BI | 10 | 10 | 10 | PT | Home |
| Ouellette et al,31 2004 | 21 | 21 | 65.8 (2.5) | 66.1 (2.1) | 28/14 | MS | Range of motion and upper body flexibility exercises | 6MWT | 12 | 36 | NA | PT | Outpatient | |
| Pang et al,32 2005 | 32 | 31 | 65.8 (9.1) | 64.7 (8.4) | 19/13 | 18/13 | MS NI | Seated upper extremity exercises | 6MWT | 19 | 57 | 57 | Multidisciplinary staff (PT+TO+EI) | Outpatient‡ |
| Yang et al,33 2006 | 24 | 24 | 56.8 (10.2) | 60.0 (10.4) | 16/8 | 16/8 | MS NI | Untreated | SDW | 4 | 12 | 6 | PT | Outpatient |
| Yang et al,34 2007 | 13 | 12 | 59.5 (11.8) | 59.2 (12) | 7/6 | 7/5 | NI | Untreated | SDW | 4 | 12 | 6 | PT | |
| Flasbjer,23 2008 | 15 | 9 | 61 (5) | 60 (5) | 9/6 | 5/4 | MS | Usual daily activities | TUG | 10 | 20 | NA | PT | Outpatient |
| Ng and Hui-Chan,19 2009 | 25 | 29 | 56.9 (8.6) | 55.5 (8) | 20/5 | 20/9 | NI | Untreated | SDW | 4 | 20 | NA | PT | Home |
| Mudge et al,20 2009 | 31 | 27 | 76 (39–89) | 71 (44–86) | 19/12 | 13/14 | NI | Social and educational sessions | SDW | 4 | 12 | 10–12 | PT | Outpatient‡ |
↵* Data are reported as mean (SD) or range.
↵† Main outcome was represented by the primary outcome, when explicitly declared, or by the first mobility and ADL independence outcome reported.
↵‡ In groups of eight to 12 persons.
6MWT, 6 min walk test; AE, application of assistive equipments; BI, Barthel Index; Ctr, control group; EI, exercise instructor; EP, exercise physiologist; FA, practising functional activities; FIM-mm, functional independence measures—motor measure; Int, intervention group; MS, muscle strengthening; NA, not available; NI, neuromuscular interventions; OT, occupational therapist; PT, physiotherapist; RMI, Rivermead Mobility Index; SDW, short-distance walk; TUG, timed up and go test.