Changes in Gait Symmetry and Velocity After Stroke: A Cross-Sectional Study From Weeks to Years After Stroke
Journal Articles
Overview
Research
Identity
Additional Document Info
View All
Overview
abstract
Background. There is little information about the quality of gait in the years following stroke. Long-term changes in mobility, using global indices of function, suggest a decline well after initial rehabilitation. However, global indices of mobility do not reveal more specific changes in walking competency or underlying gait-specific impairment. Objectives. The authors used a cross-sectional design with gait-specific measures (velocity and symmetry) to investigate whether deterioration in gait occurs over the long term poststroke. Methods. Data were abstracted from a standardized database containing clinical assessments and spatiotemporal gait analyses for 171 individuals with stroke. Velocity and 3 expressions of symmetry ratios (swing time, stance time, and step length) were calculated for each individual; they were then assigned to 1 of the 5 following groups: 0 to 3, 3 to 12, 12 to 24, 24 to 48, and >48 months poststroke. Results. Swing time, stance time, and step length symmetry demonstrated a systematic linear trend toward greater asymmetry in groups in the later stages poststroke, whereas velocity, neurological deficit, and lower-extremity (LE) motor impairment did not. Conclusions. The quality of gait, as measured by spatial and temporal symmetry, appears to worsen in later years. These results suggest a dissociation between quantitative measures of gait, such as velocity versus symmetry, and that these parameters may measure independent features. A longitudinal study is needed to confirm the presence and to interpret the clinical meaning of a long-term decline in specific parameters of poststroke gait.
