Affiliations: [a] PHYSIPO Co., Ltd, Sendai, Japan
| [b]
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan
| [c]
Fukushima Medical University School of Health Sciences, Fukushima, Japan
| [d]
Department of Rehabilitation, Kohnan Hospital, Sendai, Japan
| [e]
Tsurumaki Onsen Hospital, Hadano, Japan
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Hiroaki Abe, 10-6 Sakaemachi, Fukushima City 960-8516, Fukushima, Japan. Tel.:+81 24 581 5545; E-mail: abe-hrk@fmu.ac.jp.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:
Stroke often induces gait abnormality, such as buckling knee pattern, compromising walking ability. Previous studies indicated that an adequate trailing limb angle (TLA) is critical for recovering walking ability. OBJECTIVE:
We hypothesized that correcting gait abnormality by immobilizing the knee joint using a knee orthosis (KO) would improve walking patterns and increase the TLA, and investigated whether walking training using a KO would increase the TLA in post-stroke patients. METHODS:
In a randomized controlled trial, thirty-four participants were assigned to KO (walking training using a KO) and non-KO (without using a KO) groups. Twenty-nine completed the three-week gait training protocol. TLA was measured at baseline and after training. A two-way repeated ANOVA was performed to evaluate TLA increases with training type and time as test factors. A t-test compared TLA changes (ΔTLA) between the two groups. RESULTS:
ANOVA showed a main effect for time (F = 64.5, p < 0.01) and interaction (F = 15.4, p < 0.01). ΔTLA was significantly higher in the KO group (14.6±5.8) than in the non-KO group (5.0±7.0, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION:
Walking training using a KO may be practical and effective for increasing TLA in post-stroke patients.
