Mechanically assisted walking with body weight support is more effective than overground walking at increasing independent walking in non-ambulatory patients early after stroke .
QUESTION Does mechanically assisted walking with body weight support result in more independent walking and is it detrimental to walking speed or capacity in non-ambulatory patients early after stroke ?
Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Lokomat in Subacute Stroke
Objective . To compare the efficacy of robotic-assisted gait training with the Lokomat to conventional gait training in individuals with subacute stroke . Methods . A total of 63 participants < 6 months poststroke with an initial walking speed between 0.1 to 0.6 m/s completed the multicenter , r and omized clinical trial . All participants received twenty-four 1-hour sessions of either Lokomat or conventional gait training . Outcome measures were evaluated prior to training , after 12 and 24 sessions , and at a 3-month follow-up exam . Self-selected overground walking speed and distance walked in 6 minutes were the primary outcome measures , whereas secondary outcome measures included balance , mobility and function , cadence and symmetry , level of disability , and quality of life measures . Results . Participants who received conventional gait training experienced significantly greater gains in walking speed ( P = .002 ) and distance ( P = .03 ) than those trained on the Lokomat . These differences were maintained at the 3-month follow-up evaluation . Secondary measures were not different between the 2 groups , although a 2-fold greater improvement in cadence was observed in the conventional versus Lokomat group . Conclusions . For subacute stroke participants with moderate to severe gait impairments , the diversity of conventional gait training interventions appears to be more effective than robotic-assisted gait training for facilitating returns in walking ability
Mechanically assisted walking with body weight support is more effective than overground walking at increasing independent walking in non-ambulatory patients early after stroke .
QUESTION Does mechanically assisted walking with body weight support result in more independent walking and is it detrimental to walking speed or capacity in non-ambulatory patients early after stroke ?