Article

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of speed-dependent treadmill training on gait
and balance performance in patients with sub-acute stroke. DESIGN: Single-blinded
randomized controlled trial. SUBJECTS: A total of 26 patients with sub-acute
stroke were randomly assigned to experimental (n = 13) and control (n = 13)
groups. METHODS: Subjects in the experimental group underwent short interval
walking trials with stepwise increases in treadmill speed (speed-dependent
treadmill training), following the principles of sprint training. Control
subjects received gait training on the treadmill at a steady speed. Gait speed,
stride length, cadence, and Berg's Balance Score were recorded and analysed
before and after the 10 training sessions. RESULTS: Results of 2-way repeated
measures analysis of variance showed significant groupxtime interactions for gait
speed and stride length (p < 0.05). Within each subject group there were
improvements in all gait parameters and Berg's Balance Score after the training
programme. In addition, the experimental group showed significantly larger
increases in gait speed (mean 0.15 m/s, 95% confidence interval 0.04-0.26) and
stride length (mean 0.16 m, 95% confidence interval 0.02-0.30) than the control
subjects. CONCLUSION: Speed-dependent treadmill training in patients with
sub-acute stroke resulted in larger gains in gait speed and stride length
compared with steady speed. The positive findings provide evidence for clinical
practice of speed-dependent treadmill training in enhancing gait function after
stroke.

Langue : ANGLAIS