Gait speed-dependent modulation of paretic versus non-paretic propulsion in persons with chronic stroke.
Joost Biere, Brenda E Groen, Carmen J Ensink and 2 others
PMID 40340904WHAT IT FOUND
After stroke, walking faster did not make peak push more balanced between legs.
It did make total push over time more balanced, especially in people with greater asymmetry at comfortable speed.
Key findings
01For people with chronic stroke, propulsion peak symmetry, the balance of maximum push between legs, did not change with increasing speed.
02For people with chronic stroke, propulsion impulse symmetry, the balance of total push over time, improved with increasing speed, especially when comfortable-speed symmetry was low.
03People with chronic stroke could increase propulsion from the paretic leg when walking faster than comfortable speed, suggesting residual paretic capacity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 15 stroke participants were analysed, and their propulsion asymmetry varied widely, so subgroup patterns cannot be established. The stroke group could walk independently at a comfortable speed above 0.5 m/s, so results do not apply to people walking less than 0.4 m/s. Controls were much younger than the stroke group, which limits direct comparison. The study observed walking at different speeds and did not test an intervention, so it cannot show that training changes propulsion. Group-level speed effects should not be applied to an individual because individual responses varied substantially.
Declared interests
Funding was reported from ZonMw, Eurostars, and Interreg North-West Europe. The supplied text does not state author competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that walking faster improves paretic propulsion because total push over time symmetry improved. Peak push symmetry did not change, and the study did not test a training programme, so it cannot show that speed practice causes propulsion recovery.