Effects of different ankle-foot orthosis wearing methods on gait in stroke patients

Abstract

To address the issues of ankle-foot orthosis wearing in stroke patients, this study was conducted to clarify the difference in weight bearing on the heels during walking when the orthosis is put on by the wearer (self-wearing) and when the orthosis is put on by a physiotherapist (physiotherapist-wearing). Thirty healthy subjects and 17 stroke patients were studied. Using a simple gait analysis system (the Gait Judge System) and a weight-bearing measurement system, the weight bearing during a 10-meter walk when wearing an ankle-foot orthosis and the gait function obtained from the 10-meter walk were evaluated. The weight bearing was significantly lower in stroke patients than in healthy subjects both for self-wearing and physiotherapist-wearing. In addition, in stroke patients, the number of steps was significantly reduced, although slightly, in physiotherapist-wearing situation compared to self-wearing.