Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 3, 2025
08:56
Clinical Assessment of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients and Older Adults
Published on: November 7, 2014
14.0K
Increased temporal stride variability contributes to impaired gait coordination after stroke.
Prakruti Patel1, Diana Enzastiga1, Agostina Casamento-Moran2
1Movement Neuroscience and Rehabilitation Laboratory, Department of Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.
Scientific Reports
|July 25, 2022
Summary
Stroke survivors exhibit increased gait variability, particularly in stride time. This heightened temporal variability significantly disrupts lower limb coordination during walking, impacting balance and mobility.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomedical Engineering
- Rehabilitation Science
Background:
- Stroke frequently leads to motor impairments, including heightened gait variability.
- Understanding the functional consequences of gait variability after stroke is crucial for effective rehabilitation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of gait variability on lower limb coordination during overground walking in stroke survivors.
- To identify specific gait variability parameters that correlate with coordination deficits.
Main Methods:
- Ambulatory stroke survivors and controls walked at a self-selected pace.
- Stride length and stride time variability were quantified.
- Lower limb coordination was assessed using the phase coordination index (PCI).
Main Results:
- Stroke survivors demonstrated increased stride length variability, stride time variability, and PCI compared to controls.
- Stride time variability, not stride length variability, significantly predicted 43% of the variance in PCI.
- Increased stride time variability was associated with disrupted accuracy and consistency of gait coordination.
Conclusions:
- Exacerbated stride time variability, rather than stride length variability, is linked to impaired gait coordination post-stroke.
- Temporal gait variability serves as a potential indicator of reduced locomotor function.
- Targeting stride time variability may enhance motor interventions for stable walking rehabilitation after stroke.
