Base of support feedback in gait rehabilitation

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of feedback information about base of support in gait rehabilitation. Sixteen individuals with hemiparesis resulting in narrow base of support, were randomly placed into two equal groups, experimental and control. The experimental group was provided with a portable device that provided extrinsic auditory feedback information about base of support incorporated in the functional context of conventional gait therapy, whereas the control group received a conventional gait therapy only. Changes in step width with treatment were assessed with step print technique. The experimental group of subjects improved their step width with treatment from 0.09 +/- 0.003 m to 0.16 +/- 0.006 m while individuals assigned to the control group showed smaller improvement from 0.099 +/- 0.004 m to 0.13 +/- 0.003 m. While both groups demonstrated statistically significant improvement (p < 0.05), the level of recovery of step width seen in the experimental group was greater.