Article

OBJECTIVES: To examine the stepping performance during voluntary and waist-pull
perturbation-induced step initiation in people with chronic stroke. DESIGN:
Repeated-measures single-case design. SETTING:
University-based research
laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling stroke survivors (N=10).
INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Ground reaction forces and
kinematic data were recorded to assess anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs)
and step characteristics for both voluntary and induced stepping conditions.
RESULTS: Induced stepping was performed with both the paretic (35% trials) and
nonparetic legs (65% trials). Induced first steps occurred earlier and were
executed faster than rapid voluntary steps. Compared with voluntary stepping,
induced first step APAs were shorter in duration. Step height was higher with the
nonparetic leg for both stepping conditions.
Use of the paretic leg increased
(52%) during the diagonal perturbations that passively unloaded the stepping limb
compared with the use of the paretic leg (33%) for forward perturbations.
CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated differences in executing voluntary and induced
stepping, and between the paretic and nonparetic limbs in individuals with
chronic stroke. The findings suggested guidelines for using stepping as a
component of neurorehabilitation programs for enhancing balance and mobility.
Additional larger-scale studies remain to be undertaken to further investigate these issues.
CI - Copyright (c) 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS