In addition to changes in spatio-temporal and kinematic parameters, patients with stroke exhibit fear of falling as well as fatigability during gait. These changes could compromise interpretation of data from gait analysis. The aim of this study was to determine if the gait of hemiplegic patients changes significantly over successive gait trials. Forty two stroke patients and twenty healthy subjects performed 9 gait trials during a gait analysis session. The mean and variability of spatio-temporal and kinematic joint parameters were analyzed during 3 groups of consecutive gait trials (1–3, 4–6 and 7–9). Principal component analysis was used to reduce the number of variables from the joint kinematic waveforms and to identify the parts of the gait cycle which changed during the gait analysis session. The results showed that i) spontaneous gait velocity and the other spatio-temporal parameters significantly increased, and ii) gait variability decreased, over the last 6 gait trials compared to the first 3, for hemiplegic patients but not healthy subjects. Principal component analysis revealed changes in the sagittal waveforms of the hip, knee and ankle for hemiplegic patients after the first 3 gait trials. These results suggest that at the beginning of the gait analysis session, stroke patients exhibited phase of adaptation,characterized by a “cautious gait” but no fatigue was observed.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Background: Botulinum toxin injections are used to treat spasticity in stroke. Although this treatment is effective on muscle tone, its effect on functional gait-related activities remains uncertain. Objective: The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to determine the effect of a self-rehabilitation programme as an adjunct to botulinum toxin injections on gait-related activities in patients with chronic hemiparesis. Methods: Thirty-five outpatients were included. Each patient was randomized to 1 of 2 groups: botulinum toxin + standardized self-rehabilitation programme (R group, n = 19) or botulinum toxin alone (C group, n = 16). Each patient was evaluated with the following tests before botulinum toxin injections and one month afterwards: 10-m timed walk, Timed Up and Go, distance covered in 6 min over an ecological circuit, and the stair test. Results: There were significant improvements in the R group compared with the C group: maximal gait speed improved by 8% (p = 0.003); distance covered in 6 min over an ecological circuit increased by 7.1% (p = 0.01); and time to ascend and to descend a flight of stairs decreased by 9.8% (p = 0.003) and 6.6% (p = 0.009), respectively. The self-rehabilitation programme was well tolerated and safe. Conclusion: These results strongly suggest that a standardized self-rehabilitation programme constitutes a useful adjunct to botulinum toxin injections in order to improve gaitrelated activities.

The 6MWT distance may be a good indicator of lower limb muscle strength, and lower limb strengthening may improve gait capacity in stroke patients.

No abstract

No abstract