Community ambulation in patients with chronic post-stroke hemiparesis : Comparison of walking variables in five different community situations

만성 뇌졸중 환자의 지역사회 보행: 다섯 보행 조건의 비교

Background: Community ambulation has been recently recognized as one of the most essential factors of activities of daily living in patients with post-stroke hemiparesis. This study aimed to compare walking velocity and step number in 5 community situations in patients with post-stroke hemiparesis. Methods: Ten chronic stroke patients volunteered for this study. The main variables analyzed were walking speed and step number, and these were measured in 5 different community situations: a physical therapy room, a parking lot, a bank, a crosswalk, and a hospital lobby. The measurements obtained for walking in the physical therapy room were measured using a 10m walk test and were used as baseline data for comparison with each option. The ambulation distance was set at 300m for the parking lot and the bank and 150m for the crosswalk and hospital lobby. For data analysis, walking speed and step number were standardized with the distance options of each ambulation. Results: Compared to the walking speed in the physical therapy room, those in the other situations, except for the parking lot, were significantly different (p<.05). Moreover, there were significant differences in the speeds between the bank and the parking lot and between the parking lot and the crosswalk (p<.05). Compared to the step number in the physical therapy room, those in all situations except for the crosswalk were significantly different (p<.05). Further, there was a significant difference in the step number between the bank and the crosswalk (p<.05). Conclusion: The walking ability of patients with hemiparesis in real environments within a community could be different from that in a physical therapy room. Therefore, the evaluation of walking should be performed in a variety of community situations.