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Changes in passive ankle stiffness and its effects on gait function in people with chronic stroke. Anindo Roy, PhD; Larry W. Forrester, PhD; Richard F. Macko, MD; Hermano I. Krebs, PhD. Aim Investigate robot-assisted ankle training in people with chronic stroke:
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Changes in passive ankle stiffness and its effects on gait function in people with chronic stroke Anindo Roy, PhD; Larry W. Forrester, PhD; Richard F. Macko, MD; Hermano I. Krebs, PhD
Aim • Investigate robot-assisted ankle training in people with chronic stroke: • Effect on passive ankle stiffness (PAS). • Relationship to overground gait function. • Relevance • Mechanical impedance of ankle is known to influence key aspects of ankle function.
Method • 8 seated participants with residual hemiparetic deficits engaged in visuomotor task over 6 wk: • Performed dorsiflexion (DF) or plantar flexion (PF) of paretic ankle. • Ankle robot (“anklebot”) assisted as needed. • PAS was measured in both: • Trained sagittal plane. • Untrained frontal plane.
Results • PAS decreased in both DF and PF. • DF PAS: • Reverted into variability of age-matched controls. • PF PAS: • Changes correlated strongly with gains in paretic step length and stride length. • Baseline correlated with gains in paretic step length, stride length, and single-support stance duration. • Baseline eversion PAS: • Correlated with gains in cadence.
Conclusion • Ankle robot-assisted, visually evoked, visually guided ankle training positively affects paretic ankle PAS. • Strongly influences key measures of gait function.