Baseline predictors of treatment gains in peak propulsive force in individuals poststroke
Date
2016-01-15
Journal Title
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Publisher
BioMed Central
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Current rehabilitation for individuals poststroke focuses on increasing walking speed because it is an
indicator of community walking ability and quality of life. Propulsive force generated from the paretic limb is critical
to walking speed and may reflect actual neural recovery that restores the affected neural systems. A wide variation
across individuals in the improvements in paretic propulsive force was observed following an intervention that
targeted paretic propulsive force. This study aimed to determine if specific baseline characteristics can be used to
predict patients who would respond to the intervention.
METHODS: Participants (N = 19) with chronic poststroke hemiparesis walked at their self-selected and maximal
walking speeds on a treadmill before and after a 12-week gait training program. Propulsive forces from the paretic
limb were analyzed. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationships between (1) treatment
gains in walking speed and propulsive force following intervention, and (2) treatment gains in propulsive force and
baseline propulsive forces.
RESULTS: Treatment gains in self-selected walking speed were correlated to treatment gains in paretic propulsive
force following intervention. In addition, changes in paretic propulsive force between self-selected and maximal
walking speeds at baseline were strongly correlated to treatment gains in paretic propulsive force.
CONCLUSIONS: The capacity to modulate paretic propulsive force, rather than the absolute propulsive force during
self-selected or maximal walking speed, predicted treatment gains in propulsive force following the intervention.
Findings from this research could help to inform clinicians and researchers to target the appropriate patient
population for rehabilitation interventions.
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Citation
Hsiao, HaoYuan, Jill S. Higginson, and Stuart A. Binder-Macleod. "Baseline predictors of treatment gains in peak propulsive force in individuals poststroke." Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation 13.1 (2016): 1.