Department Of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2010 Feb 11;7:6. doi: 10.1186/1743-0003-7-6.
Previous research has shown that body weight support (BWS) has the potential to improve gait speed for individuals post-stroke. However, body weight support also reduces the optimal walking speed at which energy use is minimized over the gait cycle indicating that BWS should reduce walking speed capability.
Nonimpaired subjects and subjects post-stroke walked at a self-selected speed over a 15 m walkway. Body weight support (BWS) was provided to subjects at 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% of the subject's weight while they walked overground using a robotic body weight support system. Gait speed, cadence, and average step length were calculated for each subject using recorded data on their time to walk 10 m and the number of steps taken.
When subjected to greater levels of BWS, self-selected walking speed decreased for the nonimpaired subjects. However, subjects post-stroke showed an average increase of 17% in self-selected walking speed when subjected to some level of BWS compared to the 0% BWS condition. Most subjects showed this increase at the 10% BWS level. Gait speed increases corresponded to an increase in step length, but not cadence.
The BWS training environment results in decreased self-selected walking speed in nonimpaired individuals, however self-selected overground walking speed is facilitated when provided with a small percentage of body weight support for people post-stroke.
先前的研究表明，体重支撑（BWS）有可能提高中风后的个体的步态速度。然而，体重支撑也降低了步态周期中能量使用最小化的最佳行走速度，这表明 BWS 应该降低行走速度能力。
非损伤受试者和中风后受试者在 15 米的步道上以自我选择的速度行走。当他们使用机器人体重支撑系统在地面上行走时，体重支撑（BWS）以受试者体重的 0%、10%、20%、30%和 40%的水平提供给受试者。使用记录的受试者行走 10 米的时间和步数数据，计算每个受试者的步态速度、步频和平均步长。
当受试者承受更大水平的 BWS 时，非损伤受试者的自我选择行走速度下降。然而，与 0%BWS 相比，中风后的受试者在承受某种水平的 BWS 时，自我选择行走速度平均增加了 17%。大多数受试者在 10%BWS 水平时表现出这种增加。步态速度的增加与步长的增加相对应，但与步频无关。
BWS 训练环境导致非损伤个体的自我选择行走速度下降，但对于中风后的个体，提供少量体重支撑可以促进自我选择的地面行走速度。
