CRD summary
This generally well-conducted review concluded that there was some evidence that a higher dose of the same type of exercise-based therapy enhanced motor recovery after stroke. Interpretation of these conclusions should bear in mind that support for a higher dose was only found for a limited number of outcomes, with most comparisons showing no differences between therapy doses.
Authors' objectives
To determine the effects of the provision of a higher dose of the same types of exercise-based therapy to enhance motor recover after stroke.
Searching
MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were searched to October 2009, with the exception of CINAHL which was searched to November 2008. A full search strategy was reported. Reference lists of included studies were screened. Contents pages of journals that had published relevant studies but were not indexed on CENTRAL were handsearched. The authors' files were screened. Authors of included studies were contacted to locate unpublished data. The review was restricted to English language publications.