The gait pattern during treadmill walking is comparable with overground walking in healthy subjects, but the effects due to the mode of walking in stroke subjects have not been established. Purpose. (1) To compare the maximum gait speed of stroke subjects walking on treadmill vs. the ground. (2) To estimate the temporal-distance determinants of the maximal gait speed. (3) To compare temporal distance factors and body kinematics of stroke subjects walking at comfortable vs. maximum speeds during the two modes of locomotion. Subjects. Ten subjects (aged 63 +/- 19 years) with a hemiparesis due to a stroke (<3 months) were tested. Methods. Subjects walked at comfortable and maximal speeds on the treadmill and overground, and gait outcomes were thus compared. Results. Overground walking resulted in higher maximal speeds, greater stride lengths and a lower cadence, as compared to treadmill. The comfortable gait speed and the maximum stride length proved to be strong determinants for the maximal speed on both modes of locomotion, but the maximum cadence was correlated to maximum speed only overground. At matched speed, the hip and knee joint demonstrated greater excursion overground for both the paretic and nonparetic sides. Conclusions. Stroke subjects walked slower on the treadmill as compared to overground. Furthermore, a different strategy was implemented to increase gait speed on each surface. A guarded gait pattern was evident in the lower extremity kinematic patterns during treadmill ambulation, perhaps due to muscle weakness, reduced stability and fear of falling on the treadmill.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.80223 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Bayat, Roain |
| Contributors | Lamontagne, Anouk (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (School of Physical and Occupational Therapy.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002141488, proquestno: AAIMQ98592, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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