The kinematic analysis of Dorsiflexion Ankle Foot Orthotics on pelvic control of hemiplegic patients / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the effects of dorsiflexion ankle foot orthotics (d-AFO) on pelvic control of hemiplegic patients by analyzing the time-space gait parameters and 3D pelvic motion parameters.Methods Fifteen hemiplegic patients (14 male and 1 female) were enrolled in this study.The time-space gait parameters and pelvic 3D motion parameters were collecte with a Motion Analysis System while the patients were asked to walk under 3 conditions:wearing d-AFO (5°dorsiflexion),f-AFO (0°dorsiflexion) or barefoot.Results It was found that,while wearing d-AFO,the velocity,the paralyzed step length and the nonparalyzed step length were significantly increased,and the step width was significantly decreased when compared with those while walking barefoot (P ＜ 0.05).Comparison between wearing d-AFO and f-AFO showed that the sagittal and coronal plane inclinations,but not the transverse rotation of pelvis were significantly decreased when wearing the d-AFO (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions d-AFO can significantly improve pelvis control and increase gait stability in hemiplegic patients.