Article

OBJECTIVE: To identify the effects of action observation training (AOT) on the
walking ability of subjects with post-stroke hemiparesis. DESIGN: Randomized,
single-blind, controlled pilot study. SETTING: Inpatient rehabilitation hospital.
SUBJECTS: Twenty-one subjects with post-stroke hemiparesis were randomly
allocated to either the experimental group (EG) or the control group (CG), with
11 and 10 patients, respectively. INTERVENTIONS: The subjects in the EG and CG
watched video clips demonstrating four functional walking tasks and showing
different landscape images, respectively. All subjects subsequently performed the
walking tasks (a total of 30 min, once a day, 3 times weekly for a 4-week
period). MAIN MEASURES: 10-m walk test, figure-of-8 walk test (time and steps),
dynamic gait index (DGI), and gait symmetry score (swing and stance phases, and
stride length) before and after the intervention. RESULTS: The changes between
the pre- and post-test values of the 10-m walk test (median [interquartile
range], -5.10 [-15.80--1.60] versus 0.00 [-6.60-4.06]), figure-of-8 walk test
(time: -3.50 [-12.60--2.00] versus -1.25 [-4.98-0.25]; steps:-5.00 [-8.00--2.00]
versus 0.00 [-3.25-0.25]), and DGI (4.00 [3.00-6.00] versus 1.00 [-4.00-3.00])
showed significant differences between the EG and CG (p < 0.05). In the EG, the
10-m walk test, time and steps of figure-of-8 walk test, DGI, and gait symmetry
score in the stance phase showed significant differences between pre- and
post-test (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that AOT can be
beneficial in enhancing walking ability of patients with post-stroke hemiparesis,
and may be clinically feasible as a practical adjunct to routine rehabilitation
therapy. A power calculation on our data showed that 20 subjects in each group
were required for further definitive studies.
CI - (c) The Author(s) 2014.

Langue : ANGLAIS