All participants were at least 6-month post-stroke and had unilateral limb involvement (8 right/4 left). The main inclusion criteria in selection of the participants in this study were as follows :(1) First stroke (2) At least 6 months post stroke (3) Able to stand for at least one minute without any assistive devices (4) Able to walk for at least 10 meters. All participants were instructed to walk with bare foot or with ankle-foot orthoses(AFOs) separately under gait detection of the motion capture system. Participants were further instructed to complete the 10 Meter Walk Test at a comfortable speed with BF or with AFOs separately. All participants were provided with sufficient rest between each trial. Patient demographics such as lower limb Brunnstrom stage and Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) score were examined and recorded by experienced therapist. The satisfaction and outcome were measured by the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology (QUEST) and SF-36. The kinematic and kinetic data were collected by Motion Analysis system.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
20
Subjects wear different AFOs and performed gait analysis.
National Cheng-Kung University
Tainan, Taiwan
Kinematic analysis
A total of 22 reflective markers were attached to the anatomical landmarks of participants, and a motion capture system with eight cameras was used to collect the kinematics data.
Time frame: Baseline
10 Meter Walk Test (10MWT)
Each participant preformed three 10MWT trials under each condition, for a total of 9 trials, on the same day with sufficient time given to rest in between trials.
Time frame: Baseline
Numerical rating scale
Participant fatigue before and after the 10MWT for the 3 experimental conditions was measured via a 5-point numerical rating scale (NRS), with 1 indicating no fatigue and 5 indicating strong fatigue.
Time frame: Baseline
The Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology (QUEST)
The 8 items of the questionnaire included Dimensions, Weight, Ease in Adjusting, Safety and Security, Durability , Ease of Use, Comfortable, and Effectiveness. Each item employed a 5-point scale, with 1-point representing not satisfied at all, and 5-point representing very satisfied.
Time frame: Baseline
36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36)
The eight-section questionnaire including vitality,physical functioning,bodily pain,general health perceptions, physical role functioning,emotional role functioning,social role functioning,mental health were surveyed to evaluate participant's quality of life
Time frame: one month after intervention
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