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Bilateral Postural Sway in Stroke Patients: New Parameters for Assessing and Predicting Locomotor Outcome

Loewenstein Rehabilitation Center, Neurological Rehabilitation Ward, Sackler School of Medicine, University of Tel-Aviv, RAANANA 43100, ISRAEL

Joseph Mizrahi, DSc

Department of Biomedical Engineering and The Julius Silver Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Technion City, HAIFA 32000, ISRAEL

An innovative method of bilateral postural sway measurements was implemented on fifteen stroke patients, eight males and seven females (age range: 41-78 years) at five to forty-two weeks after sustaining their first stroke. The measurements were based on the foot-ground contact reaction forces and were performed with the help of two Kistler force platforms, one for each leg. This replaces earlier common methods in which postural sway was measured with both legs on one platform. From the measured foot-ground reaction forces, biomechanical parameters, including total sway activity (TSA), asymmetry, and relative sequence of the tangential force vectors (RSTFV), were defined. Good correlation with locomotor outcome of the patients studied was obtained when their RSTFV was closer to that of a matched group of normals. Low asymmetry and TSA values also correlated well with a higher locomotor outcome. It was, therefore, concluded that these parameters can be used as indicators for monitoring and for prognosis of the locomotor functional outcome of post-stroke patients.

Key Words: Stroke rehabilitation • Locomotor outcome • Biomechanics • Postural sway.

Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, Vol. 5, No. 3, 175-179 (1991)
DOI: 10.1177/136140969100500304


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