The clinical effect of lateral wedge on hemiplegic weight bearing

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of the lateral wedge on asymmetrical weight bearing and posture in hemiplegic gait. The subjects were 2-female and 4-male moderate stroke patients, average age 54 +/- 6 yr. The time from onset was 127 +/- 69.7 days. A 7 mm-thick wedged insole was applied to the affected side for a week. Before and after that, the vertical ground reaction force, single supporting period and side movement of the trunk were recorded during walking. As a result, we found that the vertical ground reaction ratio and single supporting period ratio of the affected side (affected/unaffected) were significantly increased (P < 0.05), and also that the lateral sway of the trunk was remarkably decreased (P < 0.05). Our results indicate that the application of the lateral wedge for a week improved asymmetrical weight bearing and gait ability in moderate hemiplegic patients. Also we believe that a randomly sampled comparison study should be performed in the near future.