Table 1 Task-oriented circuit training description

Patients per group

3

N. of therapists

1 experienced physiotherapist

Intensity (I)

I: 2 weeks, 5 days per week, 120 minutes

Progression (P)

P: increasing the number of repetitions completed in 3 minutes at a workstation and increasing treadmill speed

Exercises

Workstations:

1: Step (the patient goes up and down a 20 cm step both with left and right foot)

2: Slalom (the patient kicks a ball walking through a slalom exercise, formed by 4 cones that are 1 m distant from each other)

3: Tandem exercise (the patient walks in tandem using a line as a guide. If he/she is not able to put one foot in front of the other, it is allowed to do a wider and longer step as long as it is challenging)

4: Goals (the patient must touch with the tip of the foot a goal that is positioned on a mirror in front of him. If necessary, he can use a lateral support)

5: Obstacles (the patient must pass 5 obstacles, 3 of which are 5 cm high)

6: Long step (the patient must walk performing long steps (at least 40-50 cm long) using some signs on the floor as a guide)

Subjects exercise for 3 minutes at each workstation followed by a 2 minutes break

7: Treadmill (the patient should walk up to 30 minutes at speed between 0.9 and 2.9 km/h. The speed is self selected by the subject, who can also take a break if she/he needs to)