Ankle Training With a Robotic Device Improves Hemiparetic Gait After a Stroke
By Forrester, Larry W.; Roy, Anindo; Krebs, Hermano Igo; Macko, Richard F.; Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 369-377Publication Date: 2011
Pilot study explored the effects of a six week visually guided, impedance controlled ankle robotics intervention on paretic ankle motor control and gait function in chronic stroke. Study participants were 8 stroke survivors aged 43 to 75 years, 6 of whom were women. The anklebot device used allows normal range of motion in all 3 degrees of freedom of the foot relative to the shank and can provide independent, active assistance in dorsi/plantar flexion and inversion/eversion with passive internal/external rotation. Setup of the anklebot included its proximal attachment being mounted to an orthopedic knee brace and its distal attachments being secured to a modified orthopedic shoe. For the seated tests and training, participants sat in a seat similar to a barber’s chair with the knee brace secured to a mounting plate. Participants trained in dorsiflexion-plantarflexion by playing video games with the anklebot during three one-hour training sessions weekly, totaling 560 repetitions per session. Assessments included paretic ankle ranges of motion, strength, motor control, and overground gait function. Improved paretic ankle motor control was seen as increased target success, along with faster and smoother movements. Walking velocity also increased significantly, whereas durations of paretic single support increased and double support decreased. Robotic feedback training improved paretic ankle motor control with improvements in floor walking. Increased walking speeds were comparable with reports from other task oriented locomotor training approaches used in stroke, suggesting that a focus on ankle motor control may provide a valuable adjunct to locomotor therapies.
Published by: Sage Publications (Website:http://www.sagepub.com)
American Society of Neurorehabilitation (Web Site: http://www.asnr.com )
This publication is included in the library of the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), accession number J61441
