Article

Individuals with stroke usually show reduced muscle activities of the
paretic leg and asymmetrical gait pattern during walking. OBJECTIVE: To determine
whether applying a resistance force to the nonparetic leg would enhance the
muscle activities of the paretic leg and improve the symmetry
of spatiotemporal
gait parameters in individuals with poststroke hemiparesis. METHODS: Fifteen
individuals with chronic poststroke hemiparesis participated in this study.
A controlled resistance force was applied to the nonparetic leg using a customized
cable-driven robotic system while subjects walked on a treadmill. Subjects
completed 2 test sections with the resistance force applied at different phases
of gait (ie, early and late swing phases) and different magnitudes (10%, 20%, and
30% of maximum voluntary contraction [MVC] of nonparetic leg hip flexors).
Electromyographic (EMG) activity of the muscles of the paretic leg and
spatiotemporal gait parameters were collected. RESULTS: Significant increases in
integrated EMG of medial gastrocnemius, medial hamstrings, vastus medialis, and
tibialis anterior of the paretic leg were observed when the resistance was
applied during the early swing phase of the nonparetic leg, compared with
baseline. Additionally, resistance with 30% of MVC induced the greatest level of
muscle activity than that with 10% or 20% of MVC. The symmetry index of gait
parameters also improved with resistance applied during the early swing phase.
CONCLUSION: Applying a controlled resistance force to the nonparetic leg during
early swing phase may induce forced use on the paretic leg and improve the
spatiotemporal symmetry of gait in individuals with poststroke hemiparesis.

Langue : ANGLAIS