Associations between lower limb impairments, locomotor capacities and kinematic variables in the frontal plane during walking in adults with chronic stroke.
OBJECTIVE
The objective was to examine the associations between impairments of the paretic limb, locomotor capacities and kinematic variables in the frontal plane during walking.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
Ten community-dwelling individuals with chronic hemiparesis due to a cerebrovascular accident.


METHODS
Frontal plane kinematics of the shoulders and pelvis were assessed during treadmill walking in a gait lab using a videographic system to obtain the lateral displacements and lateral accelerations. The percentages of time spent in single stance were determined with foot-switches. Index of asymmetry for the lateral accelerations and single stance were also calculated. Subject motor and functional characteristics were measured by standardised clinical tests.


RESULTS
Correlation analyses with Pearson product-moment correlation or Spearman's rank correlation revealed that, except for spasticity, the clinical scores were moderately to strongly associated with frontal kinematics and the single stance. In the multiple step-wise regression analysis, only the pelvic lateral displacements and the index of asymmetry in single stance were explained at more than 70% by the clinical scores with the Time Up and Go test explaining a high proportion of the total variance of these frontal parameters.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings demonstrated associations between physical impairments, locomotor capacities and the frontal kinematics in adults with chronic stroke.
De Bujanda
Eva
E
Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire en réadaptation du Montréal métropolitain, Site Institut de réadaptation de Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Nadeau
Sylvie
S
Bourbonnais
Daniel
D
Dickstein
Ruth
R
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010291:Paresis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010388:Pelvis / Q000503:physiopathology; D004856:Postural Balance; D012782:Shoulder / Q000503:physiopathology; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications*; D016138:Walking