Article

The aim of this study was to compare stroke-related changes in hip
flexor neuromuscular fatigue of the paretic leg during a sustained isometric
submaximal contraction with those of the nonparetic leg and controls and to
correlate fatigue with clinical measures of function. DESIGN: Hip torques were
measured during a fatiguing hip flexion contraction at 20% of the hip flexion
maximal voluntary contraction in the paretic and nonparetic legs of 13 people
with chronic stroke and 10 age-matched controls. In addition, the participants
with stroke performed a fatiguing contraction of the paretic leg at the absolute
torque equivalent to 20% maximal voluntary contraction of the nonparetic leg and
were tested for self-selected walking speed (10-m Walk Test) and balance (Berg).
RESULTS: When matching the nonparetic target torque, the paretic hip flexors had
a shorter time to task failure compared with the nonparetic leg and controls (P <
0.05). The time to failure of the paretic leg was inversely correlated with the
reduction of hip flexion maximal voluntary contraction torque. Self-selected
walking speed was correlated with declines in torque and steadiness. Berg-Balance
scores were inversely correlated with the force fluctuation amplitude.
CONCLUSIONS: Fatigue and precision of contraction are correlated with walking
function and balance after stroke.

Langue : ANGLAIS