Immediate effects of rhythmic auditory stimulation with tempo changes on gait in stroke patients.
[Purpose] The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of tempo changes in rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) on gait in stroke patients. [Subjects] Forty-one chronic stroke patients who had had a stroke with more than 6 months previously were recruited for this study. [Methods] All participants were asked to walk under 5 different conditions in random order: (1) no RAS (baseline); (2) baseline-matched RAS (0%); and (3) -10%, (4) +10%, and (5) +20% of the baseline. A GAITRite system was used to evaluate the spatial and temporal parameters of gait. [Results] Compared with under the RAS 0% conditions, the gait velocity, cadence, and stride length on the affected side were significantly decreased under the RAS -10% conditions. Gait velocity and cadence were significantly improved, but gait symmetry was significantly decreased under the RAS +10% and +20% conditions compared with under the RAS 0% conditions. [Conclusion] A faster RAS tempo significantly improved gait velocity and cadence, and applying RAS significantly improved the gait symmetry of stroke patients.
Department of Physical Therapy, The Graduate School, Sahmyook University, Republic of Korea.
Yuri
Y
Cha
Department of Physical Therapy, The Graduate School, Sahmyook University, Republic of Korea.
Young
Y
Kim
Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health and Welfare, Sahmyook University, Republic of Korea.
Yijung
Y
Chung
Gait; Rhythmic auditory stimulation; Stroke