The relationship between trunk acceleration parameters and kinematic characteristics during walking in patients with stroke.
Chu-Ling Yen, Ku-Chou Chang, Ching-Yi Wu and 1 others
PMID 31528001WHAT IT FOUND
Smoother and more regular trunk motion tracked faster walking and longer steps in 17 people after stroke who could walk.
Irregular trunk motion tracked greater ankle plantarflexion.
Key findings
01Faster walking was associated with smoother anteroposterior trunk acceleration and with more regular trunk acceleration.
02Affected-side step length was associated with smoother vertical trunk acceleration, and unaffected-side step length was associated with more regular trunk acceleration.
03Higher vertical interstride variability was associated with greater ankle plantarflexion during stance and with lower swing-phase ankle dorsiflexion and greater swing-phase ankle plantarflexion.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 17 participants were studied, so the relationships may not be stable. The study is cross-sectional and measured associations, so it cannot show cause. About 25% needed physical assistance during walking, which may have affected the trunk acceleration signal. Joint kinematics were analyzed only for the affected side, so the unaffected side was not tested. The participants did not show some common stroke gait deviations, including knee flexion deviations or decreased plantarflexion during stance, so the findings may not apply to patients with those deviations. The paper reports many correlations rather than a single primary outcome.
Declared interests
The work was funded by Chang Gung University, the Ministry of Education in Taiwan, National Health Research Institutes, the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan, and the Chang Gung Memorial Healthcare System. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that a trunk accelerometer can diagnose a specific gait impairment or prove that a treatment works. The study only found associations in 17 people after stroke, and many relationships were absent or inconsistent across axes and phases.