Abstract
The aim of this study was to analyze the alterations of arm and leg movements of patients during stroke gait. Joint angles of upper and lower limbs and spatiotemporal variables were evaluated in two groups: hemiparetic group (HG, 14 hemiparetic men, 53 ± 10 years) and control group (CG, 7 able-bodied men, 50 ± 4 years). The statistical analysis was based on the following comparisons (P ≤ 0.05): 1) right versus left sides of CG; 2) affected (AF) versus unaffected (UF) sides of HG; 3) CG versus both the affected and unaffected sides of HG, and 4) an intracycle comparison of the kinematic continuous angular variables between HG and CG. This study showed that the affected upper limb motion in stroke gait was characterized by a decreased range of motion of the glenohumeral (HG: 6.3 ± 4.5, CG: 20.1 ± 8.2) and elbow joints (AF: 8.4 ± 4.4, UF: 15.6 ± 7.6) on the sagittal plane and elbow joint flexion throughout the cycle (AF: 68.2 ± 0.4, CG: 46.8 ± 2.7). The glenohumeral joint presented a higher abduction angle (AF: 14.2 ± 1.6, CG: 11.5 ± 4.0) and a lower external rotation throughout the cycle (AF: 4.6 ± 1.2, CG: 22.0 ± 3.0). The lower limbs showed typical alterations of the stroke gait patterns. Thus, the changes in upper and lower limb motion of stroke gait were identified. The description of upper limb motion in stroke gait is new and complements gait analysis.
Highlights
The basis of gait analysis in stroke patients was established by pioneering research [1,2,3]
7 of the 8 patients reported improvement in their walking. These findings have shown that upper limb movements affect and are affected by other segments’ movements, the kinematics of upper limb movements in human stroke gait has not been widely described or analyzed
Data are shown for the affected side
Summary
The basis of gait analysis in stroke patients was established by pioneering research [1,2,3] In these and other studies, kinematic, electromyographic and dynamometric analyses were performed to characterize alterations in lower limb and pelvis movements by comparisons between this pathologic group and able-bodied subjects. These studies showed that the stroke group presented reduced gait speed, decreased leg joint power, increased double support time, and reduced support phase time for the affected lower limb. Frigo et al [4] described and analyzed the upper limb and trunk movements in normal gait. Electromyographic analyses have shown rhythmic neural connections that control arm and leg movements during the gait cycle [7]
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