Judgment of effect of ankle foot orthosis attachment in stroke hemiplegia patients using a gait analyzer

Abstract

The effect of ankle foot orthosis attachment was investigated in 9 stroke hemiplegia patients (mean age: 67.6±12.4 years) using a gait analyzer. Regarding the gait parameters, the walking speed and step frequency significantly increased during ankle foot orthosis attachment, compared to those with naked feet. In addition to a reduction in asymmetry of the legs, the duration of the stance phase was significantly shortened and that of the swing phase was significantly prolonged on the non-paralytic side. Based on these findings, ankle foot orthosis attachment influences the non-paralytic limb, rather than the paralytic limb, suggesting the importance of including the non-orthosis-attached limb in evaluation on gait analysis of stroke hemiplegia patients.