The effects of functional action-observation training on gait function in patients with post-stroke hemiparesis: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND

Functional action observation (FAO) is likely to activate the corticospinal tract and is likely to increase the potential ability of a functional task.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of FAO training on gait ability in patients with post-stroke hemiparesis.

METHODS

Thirty-five patients with hemiparesis caused by stroke participated in this study. All subjects had suffered from stroke for more than 6 months. Subjects received either a FAO or a general action observation (GAO) training for 30 minutes each time, five times per week, for four weeks. The GAITRite was used to measure walking velocities and spatio-temporal variables. The functional gait assessment (FGA) was used to assess gait ability. The independent t-test was used to analyze whether there were significant differences of all dependent variables between groups.

RESULTS

After four weeks of training, the step length, stride length, cadence, velocity, and FGA score in FAO group were statistically different from GAO group (p< 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The results of this study suggest that FAO is an effective and easy method for improvement of gait ability in chronic stroke patients.