Relationship between Maximum Walking Speed and Sensory Disturbance in Hemiparetic Patients

• Published in: Rigaku ryoho kagaku Vol. 10; no. 2; pp. 75 - 79
• Main Authors: TOMII, TOYOHITO, TANAKA, ATUSHI, KAMEDA, MIHO, SHIMIZU, CHIEKO, MIURA, HIROKO, HARA, HIROKAZU, SHIMADA, HIROYUKI
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Society of Physical Therapy Science 1995
• Subjects: maximum walking speed; sensory disturbance; standing balance
• ISSN: 1341-1667; 2434-2807
• DOI: 10.1589/rika.10.75

In order to examine the relationship between gait ability and sensory disturbance (SD), the maximum walking speed, walking rate, repeated walk distance, and standing balance were compared between hemiparetic patients with and without SD. Significant differences in maximum walking speed and walking rate were observed between patients with and without SD. No significant difference in repeated walk distance was, however, found between them. Patients with SD indicated significantly shorter standing time on an affected leg compared with patients without SD. No such difference was observed in case of standing on an unaffected leg. The present findings suggest that SD may induce a decrease in walking rate, thereby potentially decreasing the maximum walking speed. It was also clarified that walking rate was highly influenced by the state of standing balance, and that the static standing balance could reflect the dynamic standing balance in hemiparetic patients. These imply that the standing balance test on a single leg may be useful for evaluating gait ability of hemiparetic patients. It remains to be seen whether the test will also be applicable to patients with severe hemiplegia.