A case of male cerebral hemorrhage patient with the use of personal knee-ankle-foot orthosis to reduce assistance with urination and enable gait practice

Abstract

Toilet movement in stroke patients is one of the most difficult activities of daily living, and patients with motor paralysis or higher brain dysfunction in the early stages of stroke require assistance. A higher severity of disease is associated with a greater amount of assistance. In addition, it has been reported that the frequency of an overactive bladder is approximately 36% within 3 months of stroke onset and that the psychological burden of the urge to urinate and frequency of urination may interfere with improvement in walking ability. We report a case in which a young male patient with cerebral hemorrhage and severe motor paralysis and higher brain dysfunction was able to acquire urination in the standing position, and was able to practice walking sufficiently, with less assistance to frequent urination during physical therapy and occupational therapy by using a knee-ankle-foot orthosis device.