Adapted dance used in subacute rehabilitation post-stroke: impacts perceived by patients, relatives and rehabilitation therapists

Purpose: To examine the perceived impacts of an adapted-dance group intervention when added to intensive functional rehabilitation post-stroke.Method: In this exploratory qualitative case study, semi-structured interviews were analyzed using a deliberative inductive logic and referring to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Participants were patients in rehabilitation post-stroke (≤25 days) (n = 6), relatives (n = 4) and rehabilitation therapists (n = 12). Selection was on a voluntary basis. The intervention added to the patients’ rehabilitation program consisted of 55-minute bi-weekly sessions for 10 weeks.Results: Three categories of perceived positive impacts emerged from the data: (1) mobility, (2) mental functions and personal factors (emotional functions, motivation and self-efficacy) and (3) interpersonal interactions and social life. A fourth category of perceived impacts involving exercise tolerance was both positive, in terms of general physical endurance, and negative, in terms of a feeling of increased fatigue.Conclusion: Such an adapted-dance intervention holds promise in subacute rehabilitation post-stroke. Its main strength lies in its perceived positive impact on mental functions, personal factors, and interpersonal and social interactions.Implications for rehabilitationAn adapted-dance group intervention could offer an innovative means of contributing to intensive functional rehabilitation post-stroke by potentially generating positive perceived impacts on emotional functions, motivation and self-efficacy, as well as on interpersonal and social interactions.Adapted dance could be added to inpatients’ rehabilitation with only minor impacts on fatigue.