74
Views
1
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Comparison of the effects of action observation training of community ambulation with different observational views on walking function in patients with chronic stroke: single-subject experimental study

, ORCID Icon, &
Pages 79-85 | Received 11 Feb 2019, Accepted 13 Jul 2019, Published online: 12 Feb 2020
 

Abstract

Objectives

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of the action-observation training (AOT) of community ambulation with different observational views (first-person versus third-person views) on walking function in patients with chronic stroke.

Design

A single-subject alternating design.

Methods

Three ambulatory patients with chronic stroke participated in this study. The AOT of community ambulation, in the first- and third-person views, was alternately applied in the intervention phase. Outcome measures included walking speed (10-m walking test) and peak knee flexion angle (PKFA) during walking.

Results

When the AOT was performed in the first-person view, walking speeds increased by 0.04, 0.09 and 0.09 m/s, and the PKFA increased by 11.88, 14.67 and 25.29°, for subjects 1, 2 and 3, respectively. After the AOT was performed in the third-person view, the 10MWT speeds increased by 0.04, 0.08 and 0.11 m/s, and PKFAs increased by 13.46, 16.21 and 23.27° for subjects 1, 2 and 3, respectively. However, in the intervention phase, for all the subjects, there were no significant differences in walking speed and the PKFA between the first- and third-person views (p > .05).

Conclusions

These findings indicate that the AOT of community ambulation may help in clinically improving walking function in patients with chronic stroke, regardless of observational views in the AOT. However, larger studies, with a robust design, are needed to make a definitive judgment on the usefulness of this treatment.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.