Evaluation of spatio-temporal parameters of the non-paretic limb in the gait performance of post stroke patients

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate the compensation of the non-paretic side in the gait of post-stroke hemiparetic patients submitted to computerized gait analysis in the Centro Hospitalar de Reabilitação Ana Carolina Moura Xavier, Curitiba - PR, in a study carried out in 2015. Spatio-temporal data were evaluated: speed, stride and step length, swing time and support of both members. The sample consisted of twenty individuals with a mean time after stroke of 6.9 months. The results showed that the median speed was equivalent to 16.17% of the normal standard value, stride length to 31.22%, step length of the non-paretic limb to 31.69%. The swing time on the nonparetic side corresponded to 35% of the total cycle and the support time corresponded to 86%. There is a favoring of the paretic limb over the non-paretic one, as a compensation mechanism for weakness and impaired balance. Thus, the non-paretic limb spends more time in the support phase to allow a longer step length of the paretic limb while in swing. In contrast, the paretic limb is unable to support the body in the support phase for a long time, reducing the step length of the non-paretic limb. The significant reduction in gait speed indicates the high level of functional dependence in these patients. If there is an opportunity to act early in the rehabilitation of post-stroke patients, still in the acute phase, it is possible to quantify the improvement in the ability to walk.