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The Influence of Rocker Bar Ankle Foot Orthosis on Gait in Patients with Chronic Hemiplegia

2016; Elsevier BV; Volume: 25; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2016.02.021

1532-8511

Farzad Farmani, Mohammad Ali Mohseni‐Bandpei, Mahmood Bahramizadeh, Gholamreza Aminian, Ali Abdoli, Mohammad Sadeghi-Goghari,

Botulinum Toxin and Related Neurological Disorders

Background This study aimed to evaluate the effect of rocker bar ankle foot orthosis (RAFO) on the spatiotemporal characteristics of gait in chronic hemiplegic patients compared with the effect of solid ankle foot orthosis (SAFO). Methods Following ethical approval, 18 patients with chronic hemiplegia, at least 6 months post stroke, were investigated in barefoot condition, with SAFO and RAFO in random sequences. Their spatiotemporal characteristics were examined by 2 force platforms and a Vicon motion analysis system. Results There were significant changes in spatiotemporal outcome measures between barefoot condition and using SAFO and RAFO ( P < .05). Compared with SAFO, RAFO resulted in significantly more step length, faster gait velocity, and less preswing time ( P < .05), although no significant differences were seen regarding step width and cadence ( P > .05). Furthermore, RAFO led to significant increases in hip extension and knee flexion at toe-off, whereas SAFO did not change these parameters ( P < .05). Conclusion Findings of the present study showed that RAFO further improves gait abilities in chronic hemiplegic patients compared with SAFO, which could be due to the positive effect of added rocker bar on push-off function during the late stance phase of gait.