The effect of pelvic movements of a gait training system for stroke patients: a single blind, randomized, parallel study.
Choonghyun Son, Anna Lee, Junkyung Lee and 4 others
PMID 34961541WHAT IT FOUND
Adding pelvic movements to robotic gait training increased muscle activation and walking speed in stroke patients compared to fixed-pelvis training.
However, the study was small, and improvements in self-selected speed were similar in both groups.
Key findings
01The pelvis-on group showed significant increases in muscle activation for the gluteus medius, biceps femoris, and gastrocnemius muscles on the affected side compared to baseline.
02There was no significant difference in interaction forces at the pelvis between the group with pelvic movements and the group without.
03Cadence and walking speed increased by 10.6% and 11.8% respectively in the pelvis-on group, while stride length increased in both groups.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included only 23 patients, making the results preliminary and susceptible to chance. The training trajectories were based on a healthy person, which may not be optimal for stroke rehabilitation. Measurements were taken shortly after training, so it is unknown if the benefits last over time. One participant dropped out, and the groups differed slightly in height at the start.
Declared interests
Funded by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Asan Institute for Life Sciences, and the National Research Foundation of Korea. No specific conflicts of interest were declared by the authors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the robotic system is superior because it reduced interaction forces. The study found no significant difference in these forces between the two groups, so the benefit appears to come from increased muscle activation, not from the machine feeling less restrictive.