We examined the effect of increased rehabilitative training time on patients with cerebrovascular disorders at a convalescent rehabilitation ward in Japan. After April 2006, the Japanese Ministry of Health and Labor raised the permitted training time from 6 to 9 units (1 unit of training time corresponds to 20 minutes of exercise with a therapist) for patients in a convalescent rehabilitation ward. We compared patients who underwent rehabilitation during the period from April 2006 to March 2008 (9-unit group, 131 patients) with those rehabilitated from April 2003 to March 2006 6-unit group, 153 patients) in the convalescent rehabilitation ward of our hospital. The patients were evaluated with FIM instruments at admission and discharge. Length of hospital stay and rate of return to the patient's home were also examined. The 9-unit group had a shorter hospital stay, and higher FIM efficiency scores, and also a higher rate of home return compared with the 6-unit group.

After April 2006, the Japanese Ministry of Health and Labor raised the permitted training time from 6 to 9 units (1 unit of training time corresponds to 20 minutes of exercise with a therapist) for patients in a kaifukuki (convalescent) rehabilitation ward. We examined the effect of the increased rehabilitative training time on patients using feeding tubes in a kaifukuki rehabilitation ward after an initial cerebrovascular disorder, with a particular focus on improving swallowing disorders. Our study was comprised of post-stroke patients with feeding tubes who underwent rehabilitation from April 2001 to March 2006 (N=14, 6-unit group) and from April 2006 to March 2009 (N=16, 9-unit group). All patients went to the ward within two months after suffering a stroke. There was no significant difference in the Functional Independence Measure(FIM) efficiency or length of hospital stay between the two groups. Feeding tube removal was more common in the 9-unit group compared to the 6-unit group (81.3% vs. 35.7%, p<0.05), and the 9-unit group also had more training time per day. Logistic regression analysis showed that the increased training time per day spent with a speech therapist contributed to improving swallowing disorders (p<0.01).