Effects of an Ankle-Foot Orthosis on Gait While Performing an Attention Demanding Task in People With Poststroke Hemiplegia

Nova Scotia Health Authority1 site in 1 country21 target enrollmentMarch 2011

ConditionsStroke Gait, Hemiplegic

Overview

Phase: N/A
Intervention: Not specified
Conditions: Stroke
Sponsor: Nova Scotia Health Authority
Enrollment: 21
Locations: 1
Primary Endpoint: Velocity
Status: Completed
Last Updated: 12 years ago

Overview Investigators Eligibility Criteria Outcomes Sites Similar Trials

Overview

Brief Summary

We hypothesize that: (1) gait stability will be increased when wearing an ankle-foot orthosis (plastic brace supporting the foot and ankle); (2) an attention demanding task will decrease gait stability and (3) the improvement in gait stability due to ankle-foot orthosis use will be greater during an attention demanding task.

Detailed Description

A quasi-experimental, randomized 2 x 2 factorial within subjects study with the factor of walking condition (2 levels, walking with and without ankle-foot orthotic device) and attention condition (2 levels, walking with and without attention task).

Registry

clinicaltrials.gov

Start Date

March 2011

End Date

November 2013

Last Updated

12 years ago

Study Type

Observational

Sex

All

Investigators

Sponsor

Nova Scotia Health Authority

Responsible Party

Principal Investigator

Kim Parker

Rehabilitation Engineer

Nova Scotia Health Authority

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

•be over the age of 18;
•have the presence of hemiplegia after stroke;
•be wearing an ankle-foot orthosis for at least 6 weeks;
•be able to walk independently and comfortably for a minimum distance of 12 m with or without assistive aids (AFOs, canes and walkers);
•be able to read and understand English, follow verbal instructions and provide verbal answers to questions;
•be able to reach criterion on the attention task (described below)
•be competent to give informed consent as determined by clinical team and noted in the health chart

Exclusion Criteria

•have history of balance deficits not related to stroke;
•be at high risk of falling during the study;
•suffer from severe aphasia or dementia as determined by health chart and/or initial cognitive screening using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test.