Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of rehabilitation intervening in different stage on activities of daily living of old stroke patients. Methods 74 old cases were divided into 3 group according to the time from onset of stroke to rehabilitation intervention: group A (＜3 months), group B (3～6 months), and group C (>6 months). They were treated with routine rehabilitation for 2 months and assessed with Barthel Index before and after rehabilitation. Results All the patients improved their ADL significantly after rehabilitation (P=0.000), and those in group A improved more than in group C (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between group A and B, and group B and C (P>0.05). Conclusion The rehabilitation can effectively improve the ADL of old stroke patients. The early the rehabilitation intervenes, the better the ADL is.

Key words: stroke, activities of daily living(ADL), rehabilitation