Effects of Early Treadmill Training on Ambulatory Ability in Stroke Patients: Electromyographic and Kinematic Analyses

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this study is to explore an alternative approach that emphasizes task specificity and treadmill training for ambulation training of these patients.

Detailed Description
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Restoration of independent ambulatory ability is one of the most common functional goals of patients with hemiplegia after stroke. Ambulation training, therefore, is an important part of physical therapy intervention for these patients. Conventional neurologic physical therapy for ambulation training, based sorely on neurophysiology, prohibits early ambulation experience after stroke in attempt to avoid the development of abnormal gait patterns. Such an approach has been shown to be limited in helping these patients regain independent ambulatory ability.

Official Title
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Effects of Early Treadmill Training on Ambulatory Ability in Stroke Patients: Electromyographic and Kinematic Analyses

Conditions
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Stroke

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Treadmill Training


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: between 40 and 75 years old first stroke with R't side hemiplegia due to middle cerebral artery occlusion and received acute treatment at NTUH being willing to sign an informed consent approved by the Human Subjects Committee of the National Taiwan University Hospital able to ambulate independently in parallel bars and having no independent ambulation ability outside parallel bars Excursion criteria: having unstable vital sign, unconsciousness, or obvious cognitive, perception, and language impairment, and couldn't communicate with the experimenters having other neurological diseases, or moderate to severe neuromuscular or musculoskeletal or cardiovascular disorders, or disorders from systematic diseases other than stroke

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 40 Years
Maximum Age: 75 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Intervention/Treatment |
| --- |
|Behavioral: Treadmill Training|Partian body weight support treadmill training, 30 min/day * 3 days /week|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| To investigate walking speed and stride length as the representation of ambulation ability |  | 3 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| To investigate the the co-activation duration between the activity of hamstring and quadriceps, and tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius joints, the level of symmetry in step length and stance/swing duration ratio between the affected and unaffected legs |  | 3 months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Stroke, Hemiplegia, Gait, Ambulation training, Neurologic physical therapy