Article

Persistent deficits in gait speed and spatiotemporal
symmetry are prevalent following stroke and can limit the achievement of
community mobility goals. Rehabilitation can improve gait speed, but has shown
limited ability to improve spatiotemporal symmetry.
The incorporation of combined
visual and proprioceptive feedback regarding spatiotemporal symmetry has the
potential to be effective at improving gait. CASE DESCRIPTION:
A 60-year-old man
(18 months poststroke) and a 53-year-old woman (21 months poststroke) each
participated in gait training to improve gait speed and spatiotemporal symmetry.
Each patient performed 18 sessions (6 weeks) of combined treadmill-based gait
training followed by overground practice. To assist with relearning
spatiotemporal symmetry, treadmill-based training for both patients was augmented
with continuous, real-time visual and proprioceptive feedback from an immersive
virtual environment and a dual belt treadmill, respectively. OUTCOMES: Both
patients improved gait speed (patient 1: 0.35 m/s improvement; patient 2: 0.26
m/s improvement) and spatiotemporal symmetry. Patient 1, who trained with
step-length symmetry feedback, improved his step-length symmetry ratio, but not
his stance-time symmetry ratio. Patient 2, who trained with stance-time symmetry
feedback, improved her stance-time symmetry ratio. She had no step-length
asymmetry before training. DISCUSSION: Both patients made improvements in gait
speed and spatiotemporal symmetry that exceeded those reported in the literature.
Further work is needed to ascertain the role of combined visual and
proprioceptive feedback for improving gait speed and spatiotemporal symmetry
after chronic stroke.

Langue : ANGLAIS