OBJECTIVE To determine if the level of effort in paretic plantar flexors during gait could be a factor in explaining locomotor asymmetry. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SUBJECTS Twenty individuals with chronic stroke (mean age 49.4 years (standard deviation 13.2). METHODS Participants walked on a split-belt treadmill for 3 periods: baseline at self-selected speed; adaptation with the belt ...

During recovery from a stroke, body weight-bearing on a paretic leg is spontaneously avoided. In physiotherapy for hemiparetic gait, as long as the patients can use their non-paretic leg, adaptive and compensatory strategies are always used to support and move the body. We examined the effects of gait training using prosthetics to induce the use of a paretic leg during walking. The prosthesis w...

OBJECTIVE To understand the relationship between step length asymmetry and hemiparetic walking performance. DESIGN Descriptive. SETTING Gait analysis laboratory. PARTICIPANTS Convenience sample of 49 subjects with chronic hemiparesis. INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Subjects walked at their self-selected walking speed over both an instrumented mat and forceplates t...

BACKGROUND Patients with congenital and acquired hemiparesis incur long-term functional deficits, among which the loss of prehension that may impact their functional independence. Identifying, understanding, and comparing the underlying mechanisms of prehension impairments represent an opportunity to better adapt neurorehabilitation. OBJECTIVE The present review aims to provide a better under...

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) of the paretic wrist and finger extensors is routinely used in stroke rehabilitation to promote recovery of muscle strength and upper extremity function. A recent review of 31 randomized controlled trials concluded that there is strong evidence that NMES applied in the context of task practice improves upper extremity function in subacute and chronic ...

Stroke-induced hemiparetic gait is characteristically asymmetric and metabolically expensive. Weakness and impaired control of the paretic ankle contribute to reduced forward propulsion and ground clearance - walking subtasks critical for safe and efficient locomotion. Targeted gait interventions that improve paretic ankle function after stroke are therefore warranted. We have developed textile...

INTRODUCTION We quantified submaximal torque regulation during low to moderate intensity isometric hip flexion contractions in individuals with stroke and the associations with leg function. METHODS Ten participants with chronic stroke and 10 controls performed isometric hip flexion contractions at 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 40% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) in paretic, nonparetic, and c...

OBJECTIVE Chronic stroke patients with severe hand weakness respond poorly to rehabilitation efforts. Here, we evaluated efficacy of daily brain-machine interface (BMI) training to increase the hypothesized beneficial effects of physiotherapy alone in patients with severe paresis in a double-blind sham-controlled design proof of concept study. METHODS Thirty-two chronic stroke patients with s...

OBJECTIVE Verify weight-bearing on the feet in a sitting position during pointing in different directions with 1 or both upper limbs. DESIGN Comparative study. SUBJECTS Fifteen subjects with post-stroke hemiparesis with good to very good motor recovery and 13 healthy subjects participated in the study. METHODS The subjects were seated on a chair with each foot resting on a force plate. Th...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Despite strong evidence for hand preference and its impact on motor performance, its influence on stroke rehabilitation has not been routinely considered. Previous research demonstrates that patients with hemiparetic stroke use their ipsilesional, nonparetic arm 5 to 6 times more frequently than their paretic arm, but it is unknown if such use varies with laterality of he...