Propulsive Forces Applied to the Body's Center of Mass Affect Metabolic Energetics Poststroke.

The study included only a small number of participants. All stroke participants could walk without therapist assistance, so the result may not apply to people who need help to walk. Not all stroke participants took part in both studies. The conditions were tested on a treadmill with verbal cues and a safety harness, not in everyday walking or with a clinical device. Handrail use was kept the same within each person but was not recorded between people, so it could have influenced the results. The assistance may also have helped start leg swing, although the authors say this effect was similar across conditions. The authors did not test rehabilitation use and say assistance could reduce muscle activity and training intensity.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The article is listed as NIH extramural research support.

Do not read the 12±5% decrease as evidence that a forward pull is an effective rehabilitation treatment. The study tested lab assistance, and the authors say they are not advocating it as a rehabilitation intervention.