Analysis of the gait of stroke survivors with foot drop / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To observe the clearance strategies of hemiplegic stroke survivors with foot drop.Methods:Thirty hemiplegic stroke survivors with foot drop formed the observation group and 30 healthy counterparts constituted the control group. A three-dimensional motion capture system was used to observe and compare the minimum toe clearance (MTC) and its variability between the two groups to draw the motion trajectory of the toe in the swing phase of their gaits. The gait parameters were correlated with the toe clearance.Results:The average MTC of the observation group subjects on both the hemiplegic and non-hemiplegic side (12.01±3.36 and 22.38±5.51mm) was significantly smaller than the control group′s averages. The variability of their MTCs on both sides was also significantly greater. Clearance on the hemiplegic side was significantly less and its variability was significantly greater. Among the observation group, MTC on the hemiplegic side was positively correlated with walking speed, step length, swing phase percentage, maximum angle of hip extension, maximum angle of knee flexion, maximum angle of ankle dorsiflexion, and the range of motion of the knee and ankle joints.Conclusions:Hemiplegic stroke survivors with foot drop walk unstably with little toe clearance. It is necessary to intervene at the hip, knee and ankle to improve their obstacle clearance.