Novel design for a dynamic ankle foot orthosis with motion feedback used for training in patients with hemiplegic gait: a pilot study.
Chih-Chao Hsu, Yin-Kai Huang, Jiunn-Horng Kang and 4 others
PMID 32811516WHAT IT FOUND
In seven people after stroke, walking with a new ankle-foot orthosis put more weight on the affected leg earlier and kept it there longer than no orthosis or a conventional AFO.
The dynamic feedback part did not clearly beat the same orthosis without it.
Key findings
01Minimum foot angle at toe-off was smaller with the IT-AFO with dynamic control (20.46 ± 2.77°) than with a conventional AFO (24.90 ± 2.95°) or no AFO (26.74 ± 2.13°).
02Loading response was higher with the IT-AFO with dynamic control (9.59 ± 1.69%) and without dynamic control (9.35 ± 1.37%) than with a conventional AFO (6.17 ± 1.15%) or no AFO (5.66 ± 0.97%).
03Walking speed increased slightly with conventional AFO, IT-AFO, and with the device (0.465 ± 0.101 m/s, 0.463 ± 0.095 m/s and 0.453 ± 0.076 m/s), but the difference was not statistically significant (without-AFO 0.431 ± 0.081 m/s).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only seven participants were analysed, and they were already able to walk with an AFO at high ambulation levels, so the findings may not apply to people with more severe gait problems. Participants were measured the first time they used the IT-AFO, so the study cannot show whether repeated training with the device improves gait. The study did not measure kinetics, muscle activity, or foot pressure, so it cannot confirm how the device changed weight-bearing or control. Walking speed did not differ significantly, and the dynamic control condition was not clearly different from the same orthosis without dynamic control.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, R.O.C.; no other conflicts are stated.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the dynamic feedback component itself improves gait training. The study did not show a clear difference between the orthosis with dynamic control and the same orthosis without it, and participants used the device only for a short first-time test.