OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of an eight-week home-based arm ergometry aerobic exercise programme on physical fitness, fatigue, activity and quality of life in polio survivors. DESIGN: An assessor blinded randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Home-based exercise. SUBJECTS: Fifty-five polio survivors randomised to exercise or control groups. INTERVENTION: Home-based arm ergometry at an intensity of 50% to 70% maximum heart rate, compared with usual physiotherapy care. MAIN MEASURES: The Six-minute Arm Test, Fatigue Severity Scale, Physical Activity Scale for Individuals with Physical Disabilities and SF-36. Assessments were completed at baseline and at eight weeks. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the primary outcome, exercising heart rate during the Six-minute Arm Test, between the groups at follow-up (97.6 (SD 10.1) compared to 102.4 (SD 13.7) beats per minute (p = 0.20)). Blood pressure was significantly lower in the intervention group at follow-up (systolic blood pressure 132 (18.6) mmHg compared to 144.1 (14.6) mmHg (p = 0.002)). There were no between group differences in the Fatigue Severity Scale (p = 0.25) or Physical Activity Scale for Individuals with Physical Disabilities (p = 0.49), with a small difference in SF-36 physical component score (p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: This home-based arm ergometry programme successfully facilitated aerobic exercise in polio survivors, but did not result in a significant change in physical fitness, measured by the Six-minute Arm Test.

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