Ankle torque steadiness and gait speed after a single session of robot therapy in individuals with chronic hemiparesis: a pilot study

ABSTRACT

Background: Anklebot therapy has proven to be effective in improving hemiparetic gait. However, neither ankle torque steadiness nor the relationship between changes in force control and functional tasks after therapy with Anklebot were described.

Objective: To assess whether a single session of robotic therapy promotes short-term ankle adaptations that influence ankle torque steadiness and walking speed in individuals with chronic hemiparesis.

Methods: A sample of participants who had residual hemiparesis deficits (hemiparesis group; n = 13) and age- and sex-matched healthy control participants (control group; n = 13). For sample characterization, balance, mobility, sensorimotor impairment, and daily living activities performance were measured.

Results: Differences in functional tests were identified only when the control and hemiparesis groups (F = 29.1; p = .001) were compared during the 10-metre Walking Test. Regarding the pre- and post-robotic assistance session, no significant difference was observed for any comparison (p > .05), except for the steadiness test, as demonstrated by the standard deviation (F = 7.10; p = .01) and coefficient of variation (F = 6.20; p = .02). The hemiparesis group showed better torque steadiness during dorsiflexion post-robotic assistance therapy (p ≥ 0.02) when compared with pre-robotic assessment. Correlations were identified between steadiness and walking speed variables.

Conclusion:  People with chronic hemiparesis presented short-term performance gains in torque steadiness, especially during dorsiflexion, after a single robotic therapy session. The robotic therapy did not influence the walking speed, although low to moderate correlations between torque steadiness variables and walking speed were observed.

KEYWORDS:

• Neurological rehabilitation
• robotic therapy
• chronic stroke
• Anklebot
• ankle rehabilitation

Declarations

The study was conducted according to the guidelines and standards for human research (Resolution 196/1996, the National Health Council, Brazil), and it was approved by the local ethics committee (report no. 527.556/2014) and the international clinical trial registry (report no. RBR-9kqvnz). All volunteers signed the consent form. Data collections were carried out in the Physiotherapy Department at the Federal University of São Carlos. The recruitment took place from 2015 to 2017.

Consent for publication

A form was signed by each volunteer, who allowed their photograph to be taken for the purpose of this study.

Availability of data and material

Please contact the author for data requests.

Authors’ contributions

SC and MA contributed to the conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis, and interpretation of data and the drafting of the manuscript. S AGS and R TL contributed to the conception, design and critical revision of the intellectual content. S GL contributed to the analysis and interpretation of data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/ytsr.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Grant 2014/25845-6 Silva-Couto Doctor’s Scholarship) and the São Paulo Research Foundation (Grant 2017/13655-6); Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) (Grant 001).