Changes in postural sway according to footwear types of hemiparetic stroke patients

[Purpose] The purpose of the current study was to investigate the influence of footwear type on postural sway of hemiparetic stroke patients. [Subjects] Thirty-two stroke patients who were undergoing a rehabilitation program were recruited on a voluntary basis from local rehabilitation unit. [Methods] This study had a single-group repeated-measures design. The Good Balance system was used to measure the postural sway velocity (anteroposterior and mediolateral) and velocity moment of the subjects under the eyes open and eyes closed conditions in the standing posture. Postural sway of the subjects in four types of footwear was measured, including barefoot, high heel-collar shoes, flat shoes, or slippers. [Results] The postural sway when wearing the flat shoes or slippers was significantly higher than that when barefoot or wearing high heel-collar shoes. In addition, postural sway velocity and velocity moment of all the footwear types were significantly higher under the eyes closed condition than under the eyes open condition. [Conclusion] Our results reveal that when the subjects wore flat shoes or slippers they had more difficulty than when they wore the high heel-collar shoes in postural control when maintaining standing balance. We believe that this result provides basic information for improvements in postural control and may be useful in balance training to prevent falls after stroke.