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Evaluation of Sensorimotor Ankle Impairments in Chronic Stroke

Not yet recruiting
Conditions
Stroke
Registration Number
NCT06410989
Lead Sponsor
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to capture sensorimotor ankle function in a chronic stroke population through validation of novel, experimental metrics and their comparison with established, clinical measures of function. For this purpose, the researchers will evaluate various single-joint, impairment-level measures such as visuomotor tracking performance and proprioception as well as functional-level measures including spatiotemporal gait (e.g., gait speed and stride length/time) and standardized clinical scales. This study will be carried out in chronic stroke patients as well as age-matched healthy controls. Results will help the researchers identify more quantitative metrics that can be used to monitor and rehabilitate sensorimotor function following stroke.

Detailed Description

The purpose of this study is to capture sensorimotor ankle function in a chronic stroke population through validation of novel, experimental metrics and their comparison with established, clinical measures of function. Target populations will perform various single-joint ankle tasks (i.e., dorsiflexion and plantarflexion), assessing the quality of their movements during visuomotor tracking, goal-directed movements and unilateral/bilateral tests of joint position and force sense. Collecting these data will delineate which measures of ankle function are specific to chronic stroke, as well as sensitivity to the severity of stroke, assessed via the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for the Lower Extremity. In addition, the investigators will determine the relationship between deficits in proprioception and assessments which integrate multiple feedback modalities (i.e., proprioception, motor control and vision) to assess the role of peripheral sensory feedback in performing ankle movements post-stroke. The investigators will correlate measures of ankle impairment to clinical scales commonly used in physical therapy. As a first step, the investigators will directly compare these ankle measures to clinical tests of ankle sensation and motor control to demonstrate improvements in assessment sensitivity with this method. Furthermore, the investigators will correlate these ankle measures with clinical measures of lower-limb function during ambulatory and balance tasks, to better understand the contribution of ankle impairments to dynamic, multi-joint activities in chronic stroke.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
NOT_YET_RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
80
Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Sensation and voluntary control of the ankle, quantified by spatiotemporal errors during visuomotor tracking and matching tasks using a robotic ankle deviceAssessment during a single 2-hour study visit

Ankle function will be measured with a robotic device while the participant performs various dorsiflexion and plantarflexion movements to evaluate their ankle motor control and proprioception. For the visuomotor tracking tasks, participants will repetitively perform a specified movement, guided by visual feedback of their own input and a target movement to follow. In the matching tasks, participants will be asked to reproduce different ankle configurations (i.e., maintaining a target force or position) based on their memory of previous configurations. In both tasks, errors between the target movement and the participant's movement will be compared between chronic stroke and age-matched cohorts to characterize ankle deficits associated with stroke.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Correlation between spatiotemporal ankle control and clinical measurement of ankle controlAssessment during a single 2-hour study visit

The Manual Muscle Test (MMT) will be used as a measure of voluntary ankle control and compared to the spatiotemporal errors defined in the primary outcome measures section.

Correlation between spatiotemporal ankle control and spatiotemporal gait measures during overground walkingAssessment during a single 2-hour study visit

The 10 meter walk test will be used to measure the participant's comfortable walking speed and spatiotemporal gait parameters (i.e., stride length and stride time); these measures will be compared to the spatiotemporal errors defined in the primary outcome measures section.

Correlation between spatiotemporal ankle control and gait enduranceAssessment during a single 2-hour study visit

The 6 minute walk test will be used to measure the participant's endurance during gait and will be compared to the spatiotemporal errors defined in the primary outcome measures section.

Correlation between spatiotemporal ankle control and clinical scales of sensationAssessment during a single 2-hour study visit

The Monofilament test will be used to measure the participant's touch sensitivity at the ankle and will be compared to the spatiotemporal errors defined in the primary outcome measures section.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Shirley Ryan AbilityLab

🇺🇸

Chicago, Illinois, United States

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