ABSTRACT
Objectives: Ankle Foot Orthoses [AFOs] are widely utilized to improve walking ability in hemiplegic patients. The present sludy aimed to evaluate the effect of Rocker bar Ankle Foot Orthosis [RAFO] on functional mobility in posl-stroke hemiplegic patients
Methods: Fifteen hemiplegic patients [men and women] who were at leasl 6-months posl-stroke and able to walk without an assisUve device for at lea
The patients were examined for three conditions: shoes only, with SAFO and with RAFO. Their functional mobility was evaluated through 10-meter walk test and Timed Up and Go [TUG] tesl In addition, paired t-tesl; was used to analyze the obtained data
Results: When the patients used RAFO, their gait speed significantly increased [P<0.05]. Moreover, the time of performing TUG tesl experienced a significant decrease using RAFO compared with utilizing shoe only [P<0.05]
Discussion: RAFO led to a significant improvement in functional mobility in hemiplegic patients posl stroke. This may be due to the positive effect of rocker modification on improving push off and transferring weight during the Glance phase of gait