A New Approach to Retrain Gait in Stroke Patients Through Body Weight Support and Treadmill Stimulation
- 1 June 1998
- journal article
- clinical trial
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Stroke
- Vol. 29 (6), 1122-1128
- https://doi.org/10.1161/01.str.29.6.1122
Abstract
Background and Purpose —A new gait training strategy for patients with stroke proposes to support a percentage of the patient’s body weight while retraining gait on a treadmill. This research project intended to compare the effects of gait training with body weight support (BWS) and with no body weight support (no-BWS) on clinical outcome measures for patients with stroke. Methods —One hundred subjects with stroke were randomized to receive one of two treatments while walking on a treadmill: 50 subjects were trained to walk with up to 40% of their body weight supported by a BWS system with overhead harness (BWS group), and the other 50 subjects were trained to walk bearing full weight on their lower extremities (no-BWS group). Treatment outcomes were assessed on the basis of functional balance, motor recovery, overground walking speed, and overground walking endurance. Results —After a 6-week training period, the BWS group scored significantly higher than the no-BWS group for functional balance ( P =0.001), motor recovery ( P =0.001), overground walking speed ( P =0.029), and overground walking endurance ( P =0.018). The follow-up evaluation, 3 months after training, revealed that the BWS group continued to have significantly higher scores for overground walking speed ( P =0.006) and motor recovery ( P =0.039). Conclusions —Retraining gait in patients with stroke while a percentage of their body weight was supported resulted in better walking abilities than gait training while the patients were bearing their full weight. This novel gait training strategy provides a dynamic and integrative approach for the treatment of gait dysfunction after stroke.Keywords
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