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Impact of Alternate Gait Training Using Knee-Ankle-Foot Orthoses with Oil Damper Ankle Hinge in Patients with Subacute Severe Hemiplegia.

ABSTRACT: Patients with severe hemiplegia along with knee instability require knee-ankle-foot orthoses (KAFOs) for gait training. However, in these patients, it is unclear which type of walking training is more effective to improve gait function. Providing alternate gait training (AGT) improves walking function in patients with spinal cord injury, but it is still unclear whether this is effective in hemiplegic stroke patients. In this study, we defined "unified AGT" as AGT performed with the same therapeutic concept by physiotherapists. We then investigated whether AGT improved gait function quicker than our traditional gait training in hemiplegic stroke patients. We enrolled 15 subjects with severe hemiplegia and knee instability who had undergone unified AGT using KAFOs with hinged oil dampers at the ankles, and 30 historical control (HC) subjects who had undergone traditional gait training. We used multiple comparison and survival analyses to analyze the differences in the functional independence measure (FIM) gait score changes between the two groups. The multiple comparison revealed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in the FIM gait score compared with its initial score in the subjects with unified AGT. However, this improvement was not seen in the HC subjects. Additionally, the survival analysis of time taken to recover revealed a significant difference between the subjects with unified AGT and HC subjects (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that unified AGT using a KAFO facilitates gait improvement in patients with severe hemiplegia and knee instability.

SUBMITTER: Abe H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8615545 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) are frequently used to improve gait stability, toe clearance, and gait efficiency in individuals with hemiparesis. During the swing phase, AFOs enhance lower limb advancement by facilitating the improvement of toe clearance and the reduction of compensatory movements. Clinical monitoring via kinematic analysis would further clarify the changes in biomechanical factors that lead to the beneficial effects of AFOs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the actual impact of AFOs on toe clearance, and determine the best strategy to achieve toe clearance (including compensatory movements) during the swing phase. METHODS:This study included 24 patients with hemiparesis due to stroke. The gait performance of these patients with and without AFOs was compared using three-dimensional treadmill gait analysis. A kinematic analysis of the paretic limb was performed to quantify the contribution of the extent of lower limb shortening and compensatory movements (such as hip elevation and circumduction) to toe clearance. The impact of each movement related to toe clearance was assessed by analyzing the change in the vertical direction. RESULTS:Using AFOs significantly increased toe clearance (p = 0.038). The quantified limb shortening and pelvic obliquity significantly differed between gaits performed with versus without AFOs. Among the movement indices related to toe clearance, limb shortening was increased by the use of AFOs (p < 0.0001), while hip elevation due to pelvic obliquity (representing compensatory strategies) was diminished by the use of AFOs (p = 0.003). The toe clearance strategy was not significantly affected by the stage of the hemiparetic condition (acute versus chronic) or the type of AFO (thermoplastic AFOs versus adjustable posterior strut AFOs). CONCLUSIONS:Simplified three-dimensional gait analysis was successfully used to quantify and visualize the impact of AFOs on the toe clearance strategy of hemiparetic patients. AFO use increased the extent of toe clearance and limb shortening during the swing phase, while reducing compensatory movements. This approach to visualization of the gait strategy possibly contributes to clinical decision-making in the real clinical settings. TRIAL REGISTRATION:UMIN000028946 . Registered 31 August 2017 (retrospectively registered).

Project description:Background Impairments of trunk movements in gait of stroke are often reported. Ankle foot orthosis (AFO) is commonly used to improve gait of stroke; however, the effect of different types of AFOs on the pelvic and thoracic movements during gait in stroke has not been clarified. Methods Thirty-four patients with stroke were randomly allocated to undergo 2 weeks of gait training by physiotherapists while wearing a rigid AFO (RAFO) with a fixed ankle or an AFO with an oil damper (AFO-OD) that provides plantarflexion resistance and free dorsiflexion. A motion capture system was used for measurements of shod gait without AFO at baseline and with and without AFO after gait training. Two-way repeated ANOVA, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Mann–Whitney U test were performed for the data after the gait training to know the effect of different kinds of AFOs. Results Twenty-nine patients completed the study (AFO-OD group: 14, RAFO group: 15). Interactions were found in pelvic rotation angle, change of shank-to-vertical angle (SVA) in the stance, and paretic to non-paretic step length, which increased in AFO-OD group with AFOs (p < 0.05), while the SVA decreased in RAFO group with AFOs (p < 0.05). The main effects were found in pelvic rotation at the contralateral foot off, and thoracic tilt at foot off when an AFO was worn. The change of SVA in stance was positively correlated with the pelvic rotation in the AFO-OD group (r = 0.558). At initial contact, pelvic rotation was positively correlated with thoracic rotation in both groups. Conclusions The findings in 29 patients with stroke showed that pelvic and thoracic movements especially the rotation were affected by the type of AFOs. Pelvic rotation and lower limb kinematics exhibited significant improvements with AFO-OD, reflecting more desirable gait performance. On the other hand, the increase in thoracic in-phase rotation might expose the effect of insufficient trunk control and dissociation movement. Trial registration UMIN000038694, Registered 21 November 2019, https://center6.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_his_list.cgi?recptno=R000044048. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12938-023-01068-0.

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Impact of Alternate Gait Training Using Knee-Ankle-Foot Orthoses with Oil Damper Ankle Hinge in Patients with Subacute Severe Hemiplegia.

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