Ab. No. 28 Association between Clinical and Community Environment on Gait Performance Among Individuals With Chronic Stroke

Abstract

Introduction: Community ambulation is complex in nature when compared with ambulation in the Clinical environment in persons with stroke. However, it is unclear whether there is any association between clinical and community environment on gait speed and endurance of persons with stroke. So, this study aimed to examine the association between the clinical environment and community environment in terms of speed and endurance in people with chronic stroke. This study will help us to find out whether improving speed and endurance in a clinical environment is reflected in a community environment. Methods: A total of 46 participants in the age group 30-60 years diagnosed with a single episode of stroke of a minimum 6 months duration, who scored ≥24 in MMSE, who can walk a minimum 6 minutes with or without a walking aid and/or orthosis were included in this study. People with visual and vestibular deficits, walking with a walking frame, and having oxygen saturation < 92% were excluded from the study. It is a cross-sectional observational study. Each participant was assessed for a 10-metre walk test (10MWT) and 6-minute walk test (6MWT) to assess their gait speed and gait endurance in rehabilitation setup (clinical) and footpath (community). Spearman’s Rank correlation coefficient was used to see the association between clinical and community environments. Result: This study found that very high positive correlation between clinical environment and community environment speed (0.9592) and endurance (0.9772). The study observed that 43% of the participants covered more distance in the community environment than in the clinical environment. Conclusion: The study concludes that changes in gait speed and gait endurance in a clinical environment will significantly influence the gait speed and gait endurance in the community environment in persons with chronic stroke. Implications: Improvement of gait speed and endurance in a clinical environment may improve the same in a community environment.