Article

In the past several years, several randomized controlled trials
(RCTs) have been reported regarding the efficacy of treadmill-based
walking-specific rehabilitation programs, either individually (TT) or combined
with body weight support (BWSTT), over control group therapies poststroke. No
clear consensus exists as to whether treadmill-based interventions are superior
in rehabilitating walking speed (WS) poststroke. OBJECTIVE: To review published
RCTs examining TT and BWSTT poststroke and describe the effects on improving and
retaining WS. METHODS: A systematic literature search in computerized databases
was conducted to identify RCTs whose methodological quality was assessed with
PEDro. Pre- and post-WS, change in WS, functional outcomes, and follow-up speed
were extracted and calculated from each study. Additionally, statistical results
of each study were examined, and the intragroup and intergroup effect sizes
(ESintra and ESinter, respectively) were calculated. RESULTS: All studies (8 TT;
7 BWSTT) met the inclusion criteria, and their methodological quality was
generally good, with a mean PEDro score 6.9/10. Of the 15 studies, 8 studies (4
TT; 4 BWSTT) reported intragroup significant increases of WS, whereas only 4 (4
TT) found superiority of treadmill interventions. Nine studies demonstrated large
ESintra (4 TT; 5 BWSTT), yet only 3 showed large ESinter (1 TT; 2 BWSTT). Four
studies (2 TT and 2 BWSTT) reported retention of gains in WS, regardless of
intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Treadmill-based interventions poststroke may increase
and retain WS, but their universal superiority to other control group therapies
has failed to be established.

Langue : ANGLAIS