Motor-cognitive intervention concepts can improve gait in chronic stroke, but their effect on cognitive functions is unclear: A systematic review with meta-analyses

Motor-cognitive intervention concepts are promising to counteract residual gait and cognitive impairments in chronic stroke. There is, however, considerable variation in motor-cognitive intervention types, which may lead to different effects. This systematic review strived to summarize and compare the effects of different motorcognitive intervention concepts on gait and cognitive functions in chronic stroke. The systematic search identified twenty-nine articles, which were allocated to three types of motor-cognitive training concepts; SEQUENTIAL, SIMULTANEOUS-ADDITIONAL, and SIMULTANEOUS-INCORPORATED. Random-effects meta-analyses revealed that motor-cognitive interventions may be better than non-combined training approaches for improving gait function in chronic stroke (e.g. gait speed: g = 0.43, 95 % CI [0.22, 0.64], p < 0.0001). SIMULTANEOUSINCORPORATED motor-cognitive training seems the most promising concept. As very few articles measured both, spatiotemporal gait parameters and cognitive outcomes, future studies are warranted to investigate the effects of motor-cognitive intervention concepts on gait control and cognitive functions in chronic stroke.