The Effect of an Arm Sling on Energy Consumption While Walking in Hemiplegic Patients: A Randomized Comparison
By Han, Seung Hoon; Kim, Taikon; Jang, Seong Ho; Kim, Mi Jung; Park, Si-Bog; Yoon, Seoung Ic; Choi, Bong-Kun; Lee, Michael Y.; Lee, Kyu Hoon; Clinical Rehabilitation, Volume 25, Number 1, pages 36-42Publication Date: January 2011
Study investigated the effect of shoulder support by an arm sling on gait speed and energy efficiency in patients with hemiplegia. Participants were 37 outpatients with hemiparesis caused by stroke and an average age of 61.3 years, 12 of whom were women. The arm sling used was a vest type shoulder forearm support designed to stabilize the shoulder joint. Participants walked on a 20 meter walkway twice on the same day, randomly with and without the arm support and at a self-selected speed. Heart rate, gait speed, oxygen cost, and oxygen rate were measured. All values were analyzed with and without the arm sling and also compared after participants had been stratified according to demographic and clinical characteristics including gender, type of stroke, hemiparetic side, spasticity, motor skill, onset duration, and shoulder pain. Heart rate was significantly decreased, to 90.7 beats per minute, while walking with the arm sling as compared to walking without it, measured at 91.2 beats per minute. Gait speed was significantly increased from 30.1 meters per minute when walking with the armsling to 32.8 meters per minute when walking with it. The oxygen rate in participants walking with the arm sling was significantly decreased by 7 percent when compared to walking without the arm sling. Oxygen cost during walking without the arm sling was 1.4 times greater than walking with it. Study limitations and implications for future research are discussed.
Published by: Sage Publications (Website:http://www.sagepub.com)
British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine (Web Site: http://www.bsrm.co.uk )
Link to text: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3143727/?tool=pmcentrez
