Walking ability of stroke patients: efficacy of tibial nerve blocking and a polypropylene ankle-foot orthosis.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the efficacy of tibial nerve blocking by percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation and an ankle-foot orthosis on the walking ability of stroke patients with a spastic equinus or equinovarus foot. DESIGN A placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial with a 2 x 2 factorial design and with a 3-month follow-up. SETTING Outpatient clinic of a department of rehabilitation medicine. SUBJECTS Sixty stroke patients (17 women, 43 men) with a median age of 58 years and a median period of 34 months poststroke were allocated to one of four treatment groups. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Changes in walking ability (measured with the Sickness Impact Profile category "ambulation"; possible score range, 0% to 100%) and walking speed after 3 months. RESULTS With respect to walking ability, the efficacy of thermocoagulation as compared with placebo thermocoagulation was .56% (95% confidence interval [CI] -3.01% to 4.13%), whereas the efficacy of the ankle-foot orthosis as compared with the placebo ankle-foot orthosis was 2.72% (95% CI -.94% to 6.38%). To study the potential synergistic effect of both treatments, a multivariate model was used; interaction between both treatments was small, .83% (95% CI -6.73% to 8.40%). Analysis restricted to the compliers (n = 30) showed an increased efficacy of thermocoagulation and a decreased efficacy of the ankle-foot orthosis. The changes in comfortable and maximal safe walking speed were less than .10m/sec and were neither clinically nor statistically significant (the median baseline values for the total group were .42m/sec and .56m/sec, respectively). CONCLUSION No support was found for the beneficial effects of either thermocoagulation of the tibial nerve or a polypropylene ankle-foot orthosis in 5 degrees of dorsiflexion on the walking ability of stroke patients.