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Rehabilitation of Early Stroke Patients Using an AFO: an RCT

NCT01006772 · Status: UNKNOWN · Phase: PHASE1/PHASE2 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 50

Last updated 2010-01-12

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Stroke is a major cause of disabilities worldwide. Stroke survivors commonly exhibit walking defects which lead to an altered, slow speed and asymmetric gait pattern. The main aims of rehabilitation are to enhance recovery of movement control and regain walking ability. Ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs), braces which encompass the foot and ankle joint extending to a point below the knee, are commonly prescribed to address ambulation impairments in stroke patients. Their main function is to support the foot and allow a subject to walk safely with a gait approaching normality. This project will aim to evaluate the early provision of AFOs as an adjunct to standard physiotherapy on the walking ability of stroke survivors. Usual rehabilitation practice will be the control condition. Participants will be recruited from the stroke unit of Stobhill Hospital in Glasgow. They will be randomised into two groups. Participants allocated in the control group will receive usual clinical practice as per routine for stroke patients. The intervention group will receive custom made solid AFOs as an adjunct. They will be provided with three AFOs, one for use during rehabilitation and two which will be used only during the outcome assessment sessions for research purposes. The intervention phase will last 24 weeks. Gait analysis will be performed three times for each participant (at baseline, 12 and 24 weeks after enrolment) in the biomechanical laboratory of Strathclyde University. During these sessions force and movement data of patients walking will be recorded. Fortnightly time and distance factors of gait will be measured and a battery of functional tasks will be performed in the physiotherapy gym of the hospital using a simple video camera and a grid lino-mat. During all assessments participants with an AFO will be asked to walk with and without the AFO provided.

Conditions

Interventions

OTHER

Solid Ankle Foot Orthosis

Polypropylene (homopolymer) AFO with carbon fiber reinforcements is provided to experimental group patients as an adjunct therapy to conventional physical therapy.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Strathclyde

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Philip J Rowe, PhD, BSc, MISB · University of Strathclyde

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
90 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2010-01-31
Primary Completion
2011-04-30
Completion
2011-09-30

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01006772 on ClinicalTrials.gov