Dr. Allison Hyngstrom, associate professor and chair of the Physical Therapy Department in the College of Health Sciences at Marquette University, has received a $2.3 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health for stroke research. Hyngstrom is the contact principal investigator on the grant, collaborating with Dr. Matthew Durand, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
The 5-year study, titled “Ischemic Conditioning and Improved Motor Function Post Stroke,” will focus on ischemic conditioning and exercise training as it relates to stroke rehabilitation.
Ischemic conditioning stimulates the neural and cardiovascular response to exercise through transient restriction of blood flow to muscles affected by a stroke.
“We are continually looking for interventions that will help improve patient function after stroke,” Hyngstrom said. “Current therapies only result in modest improvements in walking speed and function. This intervention has the potential to further increase functional gains more rapidly.”
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