Effects of an Ankle-Foot Orthosis on Gait While Performing an Attention Demanding Task

N/ACompletedNCT01320839

Nova Scotia Health Authority21 enrolled

Overview

We hypothesize that: (1) gait stability will be increased when wearing an ankle-foot orthosis (plastic brace supporting the foot and ankle); (2) an attention demanding task will decrease gait stability and (3) the improvement in gait stability due to ankle-foot orthosis use will be greater during an attention demanding task.

A quasi-experimental, randomized 2 x 2 factorial within subjects study with the factor of walking condition (2 levels, walking with and without ankle-foot orthotic device) and attention condition (2 levels, walking with and without attention task).

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

Conditions

Stroke Gait, Hemiplegic

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * be over the age of 18; * have the presence of hemiplegia after stroke; * be wearing an ankle-foot orthosis for at least 6 weeks; * be able to walk independently and comfortably for a minimum distance of 12 m with or without assistive aids (AFOs, canes and walkers); * be able to read and understand English, follow verbal instructions and provide verbal answers to questions; * be able to reach criterion on the attention task (described below) * be competent to give informed consent as determined by clinical team and noted in the health chart Exclusion Criteria: * have history of balance deficits not related to stroke; * be at high risk of falling during the study; * suffer from severe aphasia or dementia as determined by health chart and/or initial cognitive screening using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test.

Locations (1)

Capital Health

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Velocity

walking velocity

Time frame: up to one week

Secondary Outcomes

trunk acceleration

trunk acceleration during walking

Time frame: up to one week

Step length variability

variability of right and left step length during walking

Time frame: up to one week

The Berg Balance Scale

Functional balance measured using the Berg Balance Scale short form.

Time frame: up to one week

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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