Effect of Rocker Bar Ankle Foot Orthosis on Functional Mobility in Post-Stroke Hemiplegic Patients: Timed Up and Go and Gait Speed Assessments

Objectives: Ankle Foot Orthoses (AFOs) are widely utilized to improve walking ability in hemiplegic patients. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of Rocker bar Ankle Foot Orthosis (RAFO) on functional mobility in post-stroke hemiplegic patients. Methods: Fifteen hemipleg...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Farzad Farmani, Mohammad Ali Mohseni-Bandpei, Mahmood Bahramizadeh, Gholamreza Aminian, Mohammad Reza Nikoo, Mohammad Sadeghi-Goghari
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Negah Institute for Scientific Communication 2016-03-01
Series:Iranian Rehabilitation Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:http://irj.uswr.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-201-5&slc_lang=en&sid=1
Description
Summary:Objectives: Ankle Foot Orthoses (AFOs) are widely utilized to improve walking ability in&nbsp;hemiplegic patients. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of Rocker bar Ankle Foot&nbsp;Orthosis (RAFO) on functional mobility in post-stroke hemiplegic patients. Methods: Fifteen hemiplegic patients (men and women) who were at least 6-months poststroke&nbsp;and able to walk without an assistive device for at least 10 meters voluntarily participated&nbsp;in this study. The patients were examined for three conditions: shoes only, with SAFO and with&nbsp;RAFO. Their functional mobility was evaluated through 10-meter walk test and Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. In addition, paired t-test was used to analyze the obtained data. Results: When the patients used RAFO, their gait speed significantly increased (P<0.05).&nbsp;Moreover, the time of performing TUG test experienced a significant decrease using RAFO&nbsp;compared with utilizing shoe only (P<0.05). Discussion: RAFO led to a significant improvement in functional mobility in hemiplegic&nbsp;patients post stroke. This may be due to the positive effect of rocker modification on improving&nbsp;push off and transferring weight during the stance phase of gait.
ISSN:1735-3602
1735-3610