eAerobics: Recommendations for Aerobic Exercise Post-Stroke

Overview:

Welcome to the new and updated e-Aerobics course by Dr. Marilyn MacKay-Lyons and Marianne Thornton. This fully revised continuing education physiotherapy course is based on a 2019 update to the AEROBICS Study and was completed in January of 2025.

e-AEROBICS is a program designed to be a Knowledge Translation strategy for the Aerobic Exercise Recommendations to Optimize Best Practices in Care after Stroke (AEROBICS) recommendations. This information is evidence-based. 

This Online Course Consists of 4 Modules:

1. Behavior management
2. Exercise physiology
3. Assessment and screening for aerobic exercise
4. Prescription of aerobic exercise post-stroke
   
   

Upon Completion of This Online Course, Participants Will Be Able to:

1. Assess readiness for behaviour change of adopting a program of aerobic exercise.
2. Explain the physiological principles of aerobic exercise and how aerobic exercise post-stroke benefits individuals.
3. Demonstrate an assessment for a person post-stroke to determine the risk and safety aspects of aerobic exercise.
4. Describe how to implement an aerobic exercise treatment plan for exercise post-stroke

This online continuing education physiotherapy course is intended for practitioners to gain skill in screening and prescribing aerobic exercise post-stroke. 

Relevance to Physiotherapy Practice

The clinical challenge is that individuals who have had a stroke do not engage in sufficient aerobic exercise. This lack of exercise limits their ability to improve endurance, which is essential for performing activities of daily living and preventing secondary complications related to further vascular disease.

Physiotherapists working with people post-stroke should take this course to improve the care they provide to stroke survivors for secondary stroke prevention and greater quality of life.

Audience:

• Physiotherapists with all levels of understanding of the subject area, whether basic, intermediate, or expert 
• Physiotherapy students and PTA students

eAEROBICS Course Developers:

Dr. Marilyn MacKay-Lyons, PT, PhD

Dr. MacKay-Lyons is a Professor in the Dalhousie University School of Physiotherapy, an Affiliated Scientist with the Nova Scotia Health Authority, and a cross-appointee with the Dalhousie University Department of Medicine and IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. 

Marilyn has extensive clinical and research experience in neuro-rehabilitation, with a particular focus on exploring strategies to optimize recovery after stroke. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Health Promotion and Prevention, Canadian Institutes of Health Research; Past-Chair of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia Advisory Board and served on the Advisory Board of the Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2012-15), Board of Directors of the Canadian Stroke Network (2010-14), and Research Policy Planning Committee of Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (2003-08, 2011-12). 

She has received several awards in recognition of her contributions to neuro-rehabilitation research and outreach including the Enid Graham Memorial Lectureship, Life Membership in the Canadian Physiotherapy Association, Canadian Progress Club Women of Excellence Award for Research, R Wayne Putnam Award for Outstanding Contributions to Continuing Medical Education, and Dedicated Service Award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

Marianne Thornton

Marianne Thornton is a physiotherapist with a master's in Human Kinetics. Her clinical and research interests are in assessment and therapeutic recommendations for balance and aerobic exercise post-stroke. Marianne had the privilege of studying with Dr. MacKay-Lyons and participating in the consensus workshop for the Aerobic Exercise Recommendations to Optimize Best Practices in Care after Stroke (AEROBICS) guidelines. With Dr. MacKay-Lyons, Marianne received funding from the Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery to enhance the knowledge translation of the AEROBICS guidelines through the development of digital learning modules, which have been accessed internationally.

eAEROBICS Course Content Experts:

• Dr. Michael Vallis
• Dr. Sunita Mathur