Effects of a Provision of a Cane After Stroke

NCT03150979 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 50

Last updated 2020-03-25

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Previous studies failed to determine the real effects of the provision of a walking cane after a stroke, mainly due to biases related to their methodological designs. In addition, there is no information on the carry-over effects of a cane to social participation. This study will test the hypothesis that the provision of a cane is effective in improving walking speed, step length, cadence, walking capacity, walking confidence, and participation of individuals with chronic stroke. For this prospective, single-blinded, randomized clinical trial, people after stroke will be randomly allocated into either experimental or control groups. The experimental group will receive a single-point cane, with ergonomic handgrip, which will be individually adjusted to the participant's height. A physiotherapist will provide instructions on how to walk with the cane and the participants will practice for about 15 minutes or until they feel comfortable with the device. Then, they will take the cane home and will be instructed to use it all the time during locomotion. Weekly, they will receive a phone call, to ensure that they are using the cane and to clarify any doubts. A home visit may be conducted, if necessary. The control group will be instructed to perform stretching of the lower limb muscles daily and keep their daily activities, without the use of a cane. To ensure the level of attention similar to that of the participants in the experimental group, the individuals in the control group will also receive weekly phone calls. At baseline (Week 0), post intervention (Week 4), and one month after the cessation (Week 8) of the interventions, researchers blinded to group allocations will collect all outcome measures.

Conditions

Interventions

OTHER

Provision of a cane

The participants will receive a single-point cane and will be instructed to use it all the time during locomotion. Weekly, they will receive a phone call, to ensure that they are using the cane and to clarify any doubts. A home visit may be conducted, if necessary.

OTHER

Control

The control group will be instructed to to perform stretching of the lower limb muscles daily and keep their daily activities, without the use of a cane. They will also receive weekly phone calls, to ensure similar level of attention to that of the the participants in the experimental group.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Federal University of Minas Gerais

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Luci F Teixeira-Salmela, Ph.D. · Federal University of Minas Gerais

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
20 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2017-08-01
Primary Completion
2019-08-31
Completion
2019-12-31

Countries

  • Brazil

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 NCT03150979 on ClinicalTrials.gov