The effect of arm movements on the lower limb during gait after a stroke

Your doctor should have analyzed this and seen what needs to be done for survivors with spasticity. I have zero natural arm swing and the sliding handles wouldn't work. 

The effect of arm movements on the lower limb during gait after a stroke

2010, Gait & Posture

 
 

Jennifer L. Stephenson
School of Physical and Occupational Therapy McGill University, Montreal Quebec, Canada August 2007
A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science in Rehabilitation Science

 ABSTRACT

This thesis introduces a new paradigm that is designed to facilitate the performance of arm movements during gait rehabilitation. The main purposes of the thesis were to assess (1) the effects of performing arm movements using this paradigm on the coordination of upper and lower limbs, and (2) the effects of arm movements on lower limb kinematic and muscle activation patterns. Ten stroke and ten healthy subjects walked on a treadmill while swinging their arms naturally, and while holding onto handles that were either fixed in place or allowed to slide along horizontal handrails. Full-body kinematics were recorded, along with bilateral surface EMG from upper and lower body muscles. Arm-leg coordination patterns were unaffected by the use of the sliding handles, and performing arm movements influenced lower limb muscle activation. Overall, results support the inclusion of arm movements in gait rehabilitation protocols and, for patients who are unable to walk without any external support, the use of sliding handles appears to be a useful surrogate to natural arm swing.