http://cre.sagepub.com/content/19/3/264.abstract
Abstract
Objective: To examine the effectiveness of additional backward walking training on gait outcome of patients post stroke.
Design: Randomized controlled trial.
Setting: Medical centre.
Subjects: Twenty-five subjects
with stroke, who were lower extremity Brunnstrom motor recovery stage at
3 or 4 and were able to walk
11 m with or without a walking aid or orthosis,
randomly allocated to two groups, control (n = 12) and experimental (n =
13).
Interventions: Subjects in both
groups participated in 40 min of conventional training programme three
times a week for three weeks. Subjects
in experimental group received additional 30 min of
backward walking training for three weeks at a frequency of three times
per week.
Main measures: Gait was measured
using the Stride Analyzer. Gait parameters of interest were walking
speed, cadence, stride length, gait
cycle and symmetry index. Measures were made at
baseline before commencement of training (pre-training) and at the end
of
the three-week training period (post-training).
Results: After a three-week
training period, subjects in experimental group showed more improvement
than those in control group for
walking speed (change score: 8.609 ± 6.95 versus
3.659 ± 2.92, p-value = 0.032), stride length (change score: 0.0909 ±
0.076
versus 0.00649 ± 0.078, p-value = 0.006), and
symmetry index (change score: 44.079 ± 53.29 versus 5.309 ± 13.91,
p-value =
0.018).
Conclusions: This study demonstrated that asymmetric gait pattern in patients post stroke could be improved from receiving additional
backward walking therapy.
My last PT has me facing forward and walking in a square, so there is one leg of the square walked backward and one in each sideways direction. I don't do it often anymore, butI'm getting better at it.
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