Article

Variable practice may be beneficial for learning novel motor patterns. The
purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a variable practice
intervention during treadmill walking on the dynamic properties of gait. Using a
counterbalanced design, 16 subjects with hemiparesis following chronic stroke
performed 20 min of treadmill walking in constant speed training (CST) and
variable speed training (VST) conditions. The dynamic properties of the hip and
knee sagittal plane angles for two minutes before (pre-data) and two minutes
after (post-data) CST and VST were examined using detrended fluctuation analysis
and sample entropy.
A main effect for time was observed for sample entropy of the
knee angle; no other differences were observed between the pre/post data for the
CST or VST conditions. While variable practice conditions are intended to promote
movement errors for improved learning, we were unable to detect immediate changes
in movement variability as a function of practice condition following a single
session of gait training for individuals post-stroke.
CI - Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS