Improved walking ability and reduced therapeutic stress with an electromechanical gait device.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of repetitive locomotor training using a newly developed electromechanical gait device compared with treadmill training/gait training with respect to patient's ambulatory motor outcome, necessary personnel resources, and discomfort experienced by therapists and patients. METHODS: Randomized, controlled, cross-over trial. Sixteen non-ambulatory patients after stroke, severe brain or spinal cord injury sequentially received 2 kinds of gait training. Study intervention A: 20 treatments of locomotor training with an electromechanical gait device; control intervention B: 20 treatments of locomotor training with treadmill or task-oriented gait training. The primary variable was walking ability (Functional Ambulation Category). Secondary variables included gait velocity, Motricity-Index, Rivermead-Mobility-Index, number of therapists needed, and discomfort and effort of patients and therapists during training. RESULTS: Gait ability and the other motor outcome related parameters improved for all patients, but without significant difference between intervention types. However, during intervention A, significantly fewer therapists were needed, and they reported less discomfort and a lower level of effort during training sessions. CONCLUSION: Locomotor training with or without an electromechanical gait trainer leads to improved gait ability; however, using the electromechanical gait trainer requires less therapeutic assistance, and therapist discomfort is reduced.

Gait training with the newly developed 'LokoHelp'-system is feasible for non-ambulatory patients after stroke, spinal cord and brain injury. A feasibility study.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of using a newly developed electromechanical gait device (LokoHelp) for locomotion training in neurological patients with impaired walking ability with respect to training effects and patients' and therapists' efforts and discomfort. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: design: Case series. setting: A neurological rehabilitation centre for children, adolescents and young adults. subjects: Six patients with impaired walking function: two after stroke, two after spinal cord injury and two after brain injury. INTERVENTION: Twenty additional training sessions on a treadmill fitted with a newly developed electromechanical gait device and body weight support (BWS), performed over a study-period of 6 weeks. MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Patients' progress was assessed with the following instruments: the Functional Ambulation Category FAC (walking ability), the 10-metre walk test (gait velocity), the Motricity Index (lower limb strength), the Berg Balance Scale (postural capacity), the modified Ashworth Scale (spasticity) and the Rivermead Mobility Index (activity). After each therapy session, therapists completed a form, thereby indicating whether manual assistance was necessary and, if so, how much physical effort was expended and how much discomfort was experienced during the therapy session. The therapists also indicated on the form information about the patient's effort and discomfort. No severe adverse events were observed during the locomotion training with the LokoHelp device. Patients improved with regard to Functional Ambulation Category (FAC) (from mean 0.7, SD = 1.6, to mean 2.5, SD = 2.1, p = 0.048), Motricity Index (from mean 94 points, SD = 50, to mean 111, SD = 52, p = 0.086), Berg Balance Scale (BBS) (from mean 20 points, SD = 23 to mean 25, SD = 23, p = 0.168) and Rivermead Mobility Index (RMI) (from mean 5 points, SD = 4, to mean 7, SD = 5, p = 0.033). Therapists required a low level of effort to carry out the training and seldom experienced discomfort. Patients described their effort during training as being low-to-exhausting. They rarely experienced discomfort, which was mostly related to difficulties with the BWS-System. Training intensity had to be adjusted in one patient who complained of knee pain. CONCLUSIONS: Locomotion training with the newly developed 'LokoHelp'-system is feasible in severely affected patients after brain injury, stroke and spinal cord injury. In addition, our results indicate that the described alternative method of gait training may decrease the exertion needed by therapists to carry out the training.

Neurobehavioral aspects of recovery: assessment of the learned nonuse phenomenon in hemiparetic adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To test the learned nonuse assumption of constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT), through behavioral assessment, that residual movement abilities are not used to their fullest extent in persons with chronic hemiparesis. DESIGN: Repeated-measures cohort design. SETTING: Rehabilitation clinic in southwest Germany. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-one persons with upper-limb hemiparesis after brain injury and 21 age-matched healthy controls. Participants were hospitalized when tested. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Spontaneous affected hand use for the items of the Motor Activity Log and the Actual Amount of Use Test were compared with the subjects' actual ability to perform these items with the affected hand. RESULTS: A significant difference between the residual movement capability and the spontaneous use was found in both tests. Most movements could be performed with moderate to good movement quality with the affected hand, but were still performed with the unaffected "good" hand in the spontaneous-use condition. This effect was equally strong in right- and left-side affected persons. CONCLUSION: Hemiparetic persons do not use their residual movement capabilities to the fullest extent. According to the learned nonuse model, this behavior reflects a learned suppression of affected arm movements, which may be overcome by CIMT.