Ana Francisca Rozin Kleiner1, Manuela Galli, Chiara Rigoldi, Aline Araújo do Carmo and Ricardo M L Barros
The aim of this study was to investigate the possible effects of flooring and affected hemi body on the ground reaction forces and on the required coefficient of friction (RCOF) in stroke barefoot gait. Twenty-four volunteers participated in this study, being 12 stroke patients and 12 age-matched healthy subjects as control group. The participant was oriented to walk barefoot, on its own preferred speed, over two force plates on the following flooring: 1) homogeneous vinyl (HOV); 2) carpet; 3) heterogeneous vinyl (HTV); 4) mixed (the first half part of the pathway were covered by HOV and the second by HTV). All the four surfaces presented safe coefficient of friction (ranging from 0.44-0.55) and they are widely used in residences and public facilities. The flooring effect was found on RCOF during the toe off for the affected and unaffected side. Moreover, differences among hemi bodies for RCOF in heel contact and toe off phases were also observed. The control group presented higher RCOF than the stroke unaffected and affected side, and the unaffected showed higher friction than the affected side. In conclusion, the gait of stroke patient was altered due to the four flooring tested in the toe off phase.
PDFShare this article
International Journal of Neurorehabilitation received 1078 citations as per Google Scholar report
