Olde Keizer, R. (Richelle) (2015) Perturbing balance of post-stroke patients, what is the next step? thesis, Human Movement Sciences.
Full text available on request.Abstract
Objective: the aim of this study was to investigate the stepping reactions as a result of balance perturbations in post-stroke patients and whether these stepping reactions differ for the affected and the non-affected leg. Methods: ten post-stroke patients (seven males, three females) with a mean age of 51.8 (±16.0) years participated in this study. Balance was perturbed in mediolateral direction, at the moment of toe-off of both legs separately, using the Pelvis Perturbator. There were three different balance perturbation forces, 4%, 7% and 10% of total body weight. Patients walked on a split-belt treadmill. The distance between the center of pressure (CoP) and the extrapolated center of mass (XcoM), step length, step width and swing time were analyzed to investigate the stepping reactions. Results: the distance between the CoP and the XcoM did not change as a consequence of the balance perturbations. For patients whose left leg was affected, the distance between the CoP and the XcoM of the affected leg was significantly larger than this distance of the non-affected leg. Regarding the stepping strategies, patients changed their step width and swing time in order to regain balance. Step length was minimally affected by a balance perturbation. There was a significant difference between the affected leg and the non-affected leg considering the change in swing time. Conclusion: Overall, it can be concluded that the distance between the CoP and the XcoM remains constant despite the balance perturbations, which implicates that post-stroke patients are able to control balance by using stepping strategies. Variation in distance between the CoP and the XcoM is possible, but this depends on the walking capabilities of a patient. Stepping reactions are defined by changes in step length, step width and swing time. Irrespective of the force of the balance perturbation, it took one to three steps to regain balance and to return to the center of the treadmill. More research is needed to investigate the differences between both legs and how this difference can cause the same stepping responses. Key words: stroke, balance, gait, perturbation, step length, step width, swing time, center of pressure, extrapolated center of mass.
| Item Type: | Thesis (UNSPECIFIED) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Haarman, J.A.M. and Otter, A.R. den |
| Faculty: | Medical Sciences |
| Date Deposited: | 02 May 2022 08:02 |
| Last Modified: | 02 May 2022 08:02 |
| URI: | https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3175 |
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