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Updated: May 12, 2026
Asymmetric Walkway: A Novel Behavioral Assay for Studying Asymmetric Locomotion
Published on: January 15, 2016
The relationship between gait asymmetry and stability in people with sub-acute stroke
Rowan Staines1, Kara Patterson2, David Jagroop3
1KITE-Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, 550 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 2A2, Canada; Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada.
Background:
People often walk with temporal asymmetry post-stroke; which is related to increased fall risk. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between temporal gait asymmetry and mechanical stability among people with sub-acute stroke.
Methods:
Thirty-one people with sub-acute stroke (<6 months post-stroke) completed six walking trials. Three-dimensional motion capture was recorded. Swing symmetry was calculated as a ratio of swing time on the more affected limb divided by swing time on the less affected limb. Mechanical stability was the minimum margin of stability, relative to the medial and lateral borders of the stance limb, during the single support phase of the gait cycle. Multiple linear regression was used to determine the relationship between swing symmetry and mechanical stability, controlling for step width and walking speed.
Results:
There was a significant negative relationship between swing symmetry and lateral margin of stability on the less affected side (β=-4.21 [-6.04, -2.39]; p < 0.0001) and medial margin of stability on the more affected side (β=-4.28 [-7.96, -0.60]; p = 0.023).
Conclusion:
As swing symmetry increased, the extrapolated centre of mass tended to be closer to the lateral border of the less affected side and farther from the medial border of the more affected side. Gait asymmetry could, in part, result from a strategy to compensate for poor balance control on the more affected side. Alternatively, reduced lateral margin of stability on the less affected side among asymmetric participants indicates instability in this direction and could increase the risk for falling.
