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Gait analysis following treadmill training with body weight support versus conventional physical therapy: a
P R Lucareli1, M O Lima, F P S Lima
1Departamento de Ortopedia e Traumatologia, Faculdade de Medicida da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Study Design:
Single-blind randomized, controlled clinical study.
Objectives:
To evaluate, using kinematic gait analysis, the results obtained from gait training on a treadmill with body weight support versus those obtained with conventional gait training and physiotherapy.
Setting:
Thirty patients with sequelae from traumatic incomplete spinal cord injuries at least 12 months earlier; patients were able to walk and were classified according to motor function as ASIA (American Spinal Injury Association) impairment scale C or D.
Methods:
Patients were divided randomly into two groups of 15 patients by the drawing of opaque envelopes: group A (weight support) and group B (conventional). After an initial assessment, both groups underwent 30 sessions of gait training. Sessions occurred twice a week, lasted for 30 min each and continued for four months. All of the patients were evaluated by a single blinded examiner using movement analysis to measure angular and linear kinematic gait parameters. Six patients (three from group A and three from group B) were excluded because they attended fewer than 85% of the training sessions.
Results:
There were no statistically significant differences in intra-group comparisons among the spatial-temporal variables in group B. In group A, the following significant differences in the studied spatial-temporal variables were observed: increases in velocity, distance, cadence, step length, swing phase and gait cycle duration, in addition to a reduction in stance phase. There were also no significant differences in intra-group comparisons among the angular variables in group B. However, group A achieved significant improvements in maximum hip extension and plantar flexion during stance.
Conclusion:
Gait training with body weight support was more effective than conventional physiotherapy for improving the spatial-temporal and kinematic gait parameters among patients with incomplete spinal cord injuries.
