The Usefulness of Backward Walking Training in Cardiac Rehabilitation

Physical training is a basic component of cardiological rehabilitation programs. If applied systematically and with appropriately adjusted workload, it results in increase in cardiological patients’ effort tolerance. The objective of this work was to evaluate the usefulness of backward walking training for cardiac rehabilitation program. The research included 90 patients (44 females, 46 males, mean age 69.8 ± 2.1) after myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), treated in MSWiA Hospital in Glucholazy. All patients qualified for model D early rehabilitation. The patients were randomly divided into three groups. Group I was a control group with standard model D early rehabilitation. Group II had additional backward walking training once a day apart from standard model D early rehabilitation program. Group III had additional forward walking training once a day apart from standard model D early rehabilitation program. Both before and after training sessions, patients had blood pressure and heart rate measured. Before rehabilitation program and after it was completed, all patients were given a 6-minute-walk test in compliance with current standards. The results of initial and final tests were subjected to statistical analysis with the use of Shapiro-Wilk test, quartile analysis, Wilcoxon test and Krusak-Wallis test. The level of statistical significance was established at p < 0.05. The research showed significant increase in effort tolerance in cardiological patients within all three groups. Effort tolerance increase was significantly higher after a 10-day rehabilitation program in the group where backward walking training was applied in comparison with the other two groups. Backward walking training might be a valuable support for a complex physiotherapy for cardiological patients.Keywords: backward walking, cardiac rehabilitation, physiotherapy.