title: Change of rocker function in the gait of stroke patients using an ankle foot orthosis with an oil damper: immediate changes and the short-term effects.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An ankle foot orthosis (AFO) using an oil damper (AFO-OD) to assist the first rocker during gait was previously developed but the effect on the other rocker functions has not been clarified.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The immediate and short-term effects on the gait of stroke patients with the AFO-OD were investigated from the viewpoint of the rocker function.
  
  
  METHODS
  Crossover study.
  
  
  METHODS
  The gait of eight stroke patients in chronic phase without an AFO, with the AFO-OD, and the gait with AFO-OD after three weeks of continuous use and gait training were measured by 3D motion analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Immediate changes observed on use of the AFO-OD were improvements in walking speed, the spatiotemporal parameters, and the angular change of dorsiflexion of the ankle joint. Three weeks of continuous AFO-OD use and gait training showed further improvements in walking speed and the spatiotemporal parameters as well as an increase in dorsiflexion angle and plantar flexor moment of the ankle joint of the paretic limb in stance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These changes produced improvement of the second rocker function, but improvement of the third rocker was insufficient. Results show the importance of gait training to take full advantage of an AFO.
authors.affiliation: International University of Health and Welfare, Tokyo, Japan. sumiko-y@iuhw.ac.jp
authors.forename: Sumiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Masako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fuchi
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yasui
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000842:Ankle; D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000502:physiology; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D005528:Foot; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009989:Orthotic Devices; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014741:Video Recording; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology