Article

An ankle foot orthosis (AFO) using an oil damper (AFO-OD) to assist
the first rocker during gait was previously developed but the effect on the other
rocker functions has not been clarified. OBJECTIVES: The immediate and short-term
effects on the gait of stroke patients with the AFO-OD were investigated from the
viewpoint of the rocker function. METHODS: The
gait of eight stroke patients in chronic phase without an AFO, with the AFO-OD,
and the gait with AFO-OD after three weeks of continuous use and gait training
were measured by 3D motion analysis. RESULTS: Immediate changes observed on use
of the AFO-OD were improvements in walking speed, the spatiotemporal parameters,
and the angular change of dorsiflexion of the ankle joint. Three weeks of
continuous AFO-OD use and gait training showed further improvements in walking
speed and the spatiotemporal parameters as well as an increase in dorsiflexion
angle and plantar flexor moment of the ankle joint of the paretic limb in stance.
CONCLUSIONS: These changes produced improvement of the second rocker function,
but improvement of the third rocker was insufficient. Results show the importance
of gait training to take full advantage of an AFO.

Langue : ANGLAIS