The influence of an ankle foot orthosis on the percentage of weight loading during standing tasks in stroke patients.
[Purpose] The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of an ankle foot orthosis on weight-bearing abilities of stroke patients by comparing weight loading during performance of tasks in various standing positions on the affected side. [Subjects and Methods] This study was performed with 16 stroke patients. To measure the weight loading value and percentage of weight loading in affected lower extremities, 5 standing tasks were performed with and without an ankle foot orthosis in random order. [Results] In the rising from a chair, maintaining a standing position, and forward weight shifting tasks, the affected lower extremities showed a significantly higher percentage of weight loading with an ankle foot orthosis. In the tasks requiring weight shifting to one leg, weight shifting to the lateral side showed the best weight-bearing ability with or without an ankle foot orthosis, followed by the forward and backward weight shifting, respectively. There were statistically significant correlations in all 5 tasks with or without an ankle foot orthosis. [Conclusion] An ankle foot orthosis improves the weight-bearing ability, especially when shifting weight forward, resulting in increased weight-bearing ability in activities of daily living tasks such as quiet standing and rising from a chair. The 5 tasks in this study would be a fine assessment tool under clinical conditions to investigate the postural stability of the affected side with or without application of an ankle foot orthosis.
Department of Physiotherapy, Gimcheon University, Republic of Korea.
Sang-Hun
SH
Jang
Department of Physical Therapy, Daegu Fatima Hospital, Republic of Korea.
Myoung-Hyo
MH
Lee
Department of Physical Therapy, Graduate School of Rehabilitation Science, Daegu University, Republic of Korea.
Kyoung-Don
KD
Kim
Ankle foot orthosis; Stroke; Weight-bearing ability