Ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) have been described to have positive effects on the gait biomechanics in stroke patients. The plantarflexion resistance of an AFO is considered important for hemiplegic patients, but the evidence is still limited. The purpose of this case series was to design and evaluate the immediate effect of an articulated AFO on kinematics and kinetics of lower-limb joints in str...

BACKGROUND Gait changes at older ages are a strong predictor of a decline in lower extremity functions. However, large population-based studies assessing gait parameters in various gait tasks are lacking. OBJECTIVE We investigated the relationship of age, the use of mobility aids and being fitted with an endoprosthesis with selected gait parameters, assessed in different walking tasks. METH...

OBJECTIVE To compare the relative efficacy of visual versus auditory cueing on gait among individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). DATA SOURCES A systematic search was completed up to September 2011, using the following databases: EMBASE, Scopus, Medline, CINAHL, and PubMed. STUDY SELECTION Four authors searched the databases using the following terms: Parkinson's disease (including abbre...

OBJECTIVE To investigate which strategies transtibial amputees use to cope with challenges of gait stability and gait adaptability, and how these strategies differ from strategies used by able-bodied controls. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING An instrumented treadmill mounted onto a 6°-of-freedom motion platform in combination with a virtual environment. PARTICIPANTS Transtibial ampu...

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of progressive resistance training (PRT) integrated with foot and ankle compression on the gait ability of post-stroke patients. [Subjects and Methods] Participants were randomly allocated to two groups: the PRT group (n=14) and the control group (n=14). Subjects in the PRT group received training for 30 minutes, five days per we...

Background Several studies indicate that the gait pattern of subjects suffering from scoliosis differs from the norm. However, there is conflicting evidence regarding the source of this discrepancy. Objective To evaluate lower limb asymmetries in selected gait variables. Study design A case-control study on lower limb asymmetries during gait which can be related to scoliosis. Methods 31 s...

BACKGROUND In hemiplegic gait, step length typically differs in magnitude between paretic and nonparetic sides. However, the direction of step-length asymmetry varies across stroke patients. OBJECTIVE The study sought to understand directional variations in step-length asymmetry in terms of asymmetries in forward foot placement relative to the trunk and trunk progression. METHODS A total of...

The development of rehabilitation training program for lower limb injury does not usually include gait pattern design. This paper introduced a gait pattern design by using equations (conditions of walking). Following the requirements of reducing force to the injured side to avoid further injury, we developed a lower limb gait pattern to shorten the stride length so as to reduce walking speed, t...

Objectives: Although for those spinal cord injury (SCI) patients with paralysis of the legs but not at arms, the primary means of mobility post injury is the manual wheelchair, there are many physiological and psychological advantages to standing and walking, such as improvement in respiratory function, lower limb weight bearing and preventing osteoporosis, pressure sores prevention etc. High m...

UNLABELLED The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in gait variability between patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and healthy controls during walking at a self-selected pace. METHODS Kinematics were collected during three minutes of treadmill walking for 10 patients with MS and 10 healthy controls. The Coefficient of Variation (CoV), the Approximate Entropy (ApEn) and th...