Objective To explore the effect of graded exercise on the neurological function and self-care ability of patients with ischemic stroke. Methods One hundred and sixteen inpatients with acute-phase ischemic stroke admitted to the Department of Neurology of a tertiary hospital in Zhuhai

Guangdong Province

from October 2019 to July 2020 were selected for the study. The 116 patients were divided into observation and control groups using random numbers generated by SPSS 22.0 software

with 58 cases in each group. Patients in the control group were given conventional rehabilitation training

while patients in the observation group were given graded exercise training. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale（NIHSS） was used to assess the degree of neurological deficits

the Barthel Index scale to assess the patients’ ability of daily living

and the Fugl-Meyer assessment（FMA） to assess the patients’ motor function before and after the intervention. Results Before the intervention

there was no statistically significant difference between the NIHSS scores in the 2 groups（P>0.05）. After the intervention

the NIHSS scores of patients in the 2 groups were lower than those before the intervention and lower in the observation group than in the control group

with statistically significant differences（P<0.05）. Before the intervention

there was no statistically significant difference between the Barthel and FMA scores in the 2 groups（P>0.05）. After the intervention

Barthel and FMA scores were higher in the 2 groups than before the intervention

and the observation group was higher than the control group

with statistically significant differences（P<0.05）. Conclusion The implementation of graded exercise rehabilitation training for ischemic stroke patients can help restore neurological function and improve patients’ motor function and living ability

and it is worthy of clinical application.