Overview and development trend of non-pharmacological therapies for poststroke gait abnormalities in the past decade:
Xianggang Meng1,2, Junfeng Zhang3, Hao Chen1,2
1First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.
Background:
Stroke survivors typically show decreased walking ability, and restoring walking ability is the main goal of poststroke rehabilitation. Non-pharmacological therapies provide stroke patients with diverse and personalized rehabilitation options. However, the development process and research trends in this field have not yet been explored and organized.
Objective:
Summarize the research hotspots and development trends of non-pharmacological therapies for poststroke gait abnormality in the past 10 years, and provide a basis and feasible suggestions for formulating systematic diagnosis and treatment plans for poststroke gait abnormality.
Method:
Retrieve literature related to stroke and gait from the Web of Science in the past 10 years, and use CiteSpace and VOSviewer to conduct statistical analysis on the number of articles publications, research strength, and keywords.
Results:
A total of 4468 articles were retrieved, and 965 articles that met the criteria were included after screening. The results showed that the number of publications has generally increased in the past 10 years, with research teams and institutions in East Asia, North America, and Europe are the main research forces in the field. A total of 2482 keywords were involved, forming 14 larger clusters. Current research mainly focuses on non-pharmacological therapies to improve gait ability and motor function, especially in improving balance, velocity, and motor performance.
Conclusion:
This study found the following research hotspots: the development of technology-assisted rehabilitation; the effectiveness of multimodal rehabilitation interventions; and research on the mechanism of neuroplasticity. Non-pharmacological therapies have significant potential in improving gait abnormalities. Conducting standardized randomized controlled trials to improve the reliability and validity of research, combined with individualized treatment plans and emerging technologies, is expected to further enhance the overall level of gait rehabilitation and motor function in the future.
