• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 2003

Body weight support treadmill training is a new and promising therapy in gait rehabilitation of patients with hemiplegia. The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of body weight support treadmill training on gait and standing balance in patients with hemiplegia. Eighteen patients with hemiplegia participated in the study. A 10 m-timed walk test, measurements of step length and standing balance score were administered. Intervention consisted of body weight support treadmill training five times a week for 2 weeks. The data were analyzed by paired t-test. Body weight support treadmill training scoring of standing balance, step length and 10 m-timed walk test showed a definite improvement. Body weight support treadmill training offers the advantages of task-oriented training with numerous repetitions of a supervised gait pattern. The outcomes suggest that patients with hemiplegia can improve their gait ability and standing balance through body weight support treadmill training.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.31-43
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate and to verification of changes that the effect of treadmill and body weight support treadmill training on balance and gait ability for sub-acute stroke patients during 4 week. Method: 16 subjects who was diagnosed stroke were divided into 2 groups(8-treadmill training group, 8-body weight support treadmill group) by randomized control trial. Both training programs were consisted with 40 minuted, 5 times a week for 4 weeks and after training programs. Analysis: We analysed effects and changes on balance and gait ability. Analyses were performed using PASW ver. 18.0 and results were reported as mean ${\pm}$ standard deviation (S.D.). To investigate within group comparisons and to verification on effects of exercise, we did paired t test and repeated measured ANOVA test. Significance was set at p<.05. Result: Both training programs showed positive changes in Limit of Stability but significant results which is area of hemiside, area of intact side, area of posterior, total area were reported in body weight support treadmill training group. Changes of Berg Balance Scale was significantly increase and it had significant correlation between groups. Changes of 6 Minutes Walking Test was significant increase in both groups but there was no significant changes on Foot print and Romberg test. Conclusion: After considering all factors, both training programs showed effect on improvement of balance and gait ability in sub-acute stroke patients, but body weight support treadmill training group had better improvement in dynamic balance than treadmill training group. For the increase of balance and gait ability in sub-acute stroke patients, we need to continues study on difference of treadmill and body weight support treadmill and then we will give stroke patients a better satisfaction if we develop and provide a rehabilitation program for improvement of balance and gait ability.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.73-79
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• 2008

Background : Treadmill training has been proposed as a useful adjunct to conventional physical therapy to restore ability to walk after stroke. The purpose of this study to inform clinical practise by evaluating the research evidence for the effectiveness of treadmill training after stroke. Methods : We searched to the effectiveness of any form of intervention for effect of treadmill training by Dankook University electronic library databases of Medline, Embase, Cinahl, Amed and PEDro combined with a hand search of papers published in relevant peer-reviewed journals. Any type of study relevant to the topic published in English during time period from 1980 to 2007 was included. Results : The literature search identified 35 studies. The included studies enrolled a total of 374 subjects. 1. Treadmill retraining without partial body weight support might be more effective than no treatment at improving gait velocity, get up and go time, gait endurance and step length symmetry. 2. Treadmill retraining with partial body weight support might be more effective than no treatment in improving step length symmetry, gait velocity, gait endurance and balance. 3. Treadmill retraining might be more effective with partial body weight support than without it at improving gait velocity and motor improvement as measured by The Stroke Rehabilitation Assessment of Movement(STREAM). 4. Treadmill retraining without partial body weight support may be no different from physiotherapy and increase gait velocity to conventional gait therapy. 5. Treadmill retraining with partial body weight support may be no different from physiotherapy for gait velocity, motor recovery and balance. Conclusion The review suggests that although treadmill training of gait, especially with partial body weight support, might Improve gait parameters and functional mobility, unless treadmill training is directed at Improving gait speed it might be no more effective than conventional physical therapy at improving gait parameters.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.77-85
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• 2014

Objective: In the present study, the effects of progressive body weight support treadmill forward & backward walking training (FBWT), progressive body weight support treadmill forward walking training (FWT), and progressive body weight support treadmill backward walking training (BWT), and on stroke patients' ambulatory abilities were examined. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: A total of 36 chronic stroke patients were divided into three groups with 12 subjects in each group. Each of the groups performed one of the progressive body weight supported treadmill training methods for 30 minute, six times per week for three weeks, and then received general physical therapy without any other intervention until the follow-up tests. For the assessment of the step length, total double support, cadence, gait were measured using optogait and the 10-m walk test (10MWT), 6 minutes walk test (6MWT). Results: In the within group comparisons, all the three groups showed significant differences between before and after the intervention (p<0.05). In the comparison of the three groups, there were significant differences among the three groups in stride length, double limb support stance, cadence, 10MWT, and 6MWT in the third week, and only in stride length, 10MWT, and 6MWT test in the sixth week (p<0.05). Conclusions: This study verified that progressive body weight-supported treadmill gait training positively affected the gait ability of stroke patients in an actual gait environment. It also showed that FBWT group was more effective than FWT group and BWT group training.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.104-110
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• 2013

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of intensive gait training with body weight support treadmill training on gait and balance in stroke disability patients. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: Twenty-six stroke patients (20 men and 6 women) participated in this study. All subjects were hospitalized patients. They were randomly divided into two groups: the experimental group (body weight supported treadmill training group, n=14) and control group (treadmill group, n=12). The mean ages were 52.07 years (experimental group) and 53.83 years (control group). Subjects in both groups received conventional training 10 times/wk. Subjects in the experimental group practiced body weight supported treadmill training for 30 minutes a day, 3 day/wk. Subjects in the control group practiced treadmill training for 30 minutes. The Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and GAITRite were used to evaluate balance and gait parameters (step length, cadence and gait speed) before and after the intervention. Results: BBS scores in the experimental group showed significantly greater improvement ($4.33{\pm}1.54$), compared with the control group (p<0.05). Significantly greater improvement in the gait speed ($24.13{\pm}4.53$ cm/s), affected side step length ($10.40{\pm}3.42$ cm), sound side step length ($11.97{\pm}3.29$ cm), and cadence ($23.88{\pm}5.52$ step/min), compared with the control group (p<0.05). Conclusions: Intensive gait training with Body Weight Support Treadmill Training may improve gait and balance in subacute stroke.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.10-17
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to determine the therapeutic effect of slope changes of the treadmill with body weight-supported training on gait characteristics in patients with hemiplegia. The volunteered subjects were divided into 3 groups based upon slope changes: control group ($0^{\circ}$ incline), $7^{\circ}$ group ($7^{\circ}$ incline), $12^{\circ}$ group ($12^{\circ}$ incline), They were trained the body weight-supported treadmill training (BWSTT) for 8 weeks. All subjects were supported up to 40% of their body weight on the treadmill training and the support was gradually decreased to 0~10% as the subjects were adapted to the training. There were significant improvements of walking velocity, step length of the affected side, the asymmetry ratio of step length in $7^{\circ}$ group (57.80 cm/s, 67.25 cm, .14), $12^{\circ}$ group (71.00 cm/s, 71.00 cm, .11) than control group (40.62 cm/s, 55.00 cm, .74) (p<.05): there were no differences between $7^{\circ}$ group and $12^{\circ}$ group in the all outcomes (p>.05). Both $7^{\circ}$ group and $12^{\circ}$ group scored higher than the control group in those outcomes and finally the effects of slopes changes of the treadmill were effective on gait characteristics of patients. But it s till remains undetermined what degree on the treadmill might be better to train the hemipareric patients. Therefore, more studies are required to look into minutely the changes of slopes of the treadmill influencing on gait characteristics.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.54-62
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• 2004

The propose of this study was to evaluate the effect of body weight support treadmill training on the patients with chronic stroke. Body weight support(BWS) treadmill training has recently been shown to be effective for gait training following stroke, and few researchers have measured the usefulness of this intervention in enhancing function, and there are reports in which BWS overground ambulation was studied. This study were 1) to report the feasibility and patient tolerance for using a BWS system for treadmill ambulation, 2) to measure the function of patients with chronic stroke prior to and following BWS treadmill and overground ambulation training, and 3) to describe a protocol used for patient treatment progression using BWS treadmill training.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.339-350
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• 2005

This study is the quasi-experimental study on the gait training rehabilitation. The purpose of this study is to prepare the baseline data for most suitable of gait while we were scrutinizing how the walking characters, functional walking ability, gait quality of stroke patients were affected by the gait on BWSTT (Body Weight Supported Treadmill Training) through the change of treadmill velocity and body weight support. To accomplish this purpose, this study used thirty subjects, more than 3 months post stroke, for rehabilitation who were divided between two gait training groups they received the neurophysiological physical therapy. For 6 weeks, 5 times a week for 15 minutes per session, the BWSTT group participated in 30 sessions structured speed-dependent treadmill training with 30% body weight supported, and the ratio of body weight support was gradually decreased as the patients advanced the capability of more self-support. The OGT(Over Ground Training) group received the same quantity of equal sessions like BWSTT. Firstly, we measured the absolute improvement of walking velocity (m/s), capacity(min/m) and cadence(steps/min) among walking characters. Secondly, we measured the functional walking ability such as Functional Ambulatory Category(FAC, score out of 5), Modified Motor Assesment Scale(MMAS, score out of 6) and Gait Quality Chart(score out of 41). Data analysis was performed with using SPSS 10.0 win program. The descriptive analysis was used to obtain average and standard deviation. The independent t-test and the paired t-test were used to compare both the groups about pre and post training test. Treatment effects were established by pre and post assessment. Subjects tolerated the training well without side-effects. Therefore, the results of this study were as follows; 1. There was a more significant difference from the improvement of walking velocity(0.09m/s), endurance(4.53min/m), cadence(4.20steps/min), FAC(0.26score), MMAS(0.33 score) and hip joint and pelvic of gait quality(0.39 score) ever before in the BWSTT group(p<.05). 2. There was a more significant increase from the walking velocity(0.01m/s) in the OGT group(p<.05). 3. There was a more statistical significant increase from comparing the average of walking velocity in both groups ever before(0.42m/s in BWSTT group and 0.31m/s in OGT group)(p<.05). There was a statistical significant difference from the average of cadence in both groups(61.87step/min in BWSTT group and 3.60steps/min in OGT group)(p<.05). As we can see from above, the findings suggest that BWSTT may be more effective than the OGT for improving some gait parameters such as gait velocity and cadency. This conclusion also suggest that BWSTT is more effective for the improvement of gait of stroke patients.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.83-101
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• 2004

The propose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of the partial body weight support during treadmill training on the ambulation in elderly with chronic stroke. Fourteen hemiplegic volunteers participated and were divided into an experimental and control groups. In the experimental group, the body weight support during treadmill training was performed 3 times per week for 6 weeks. In the control group, usual treadmill training was applied. Before and after experiments, temporal-spatial gait parameters were measured. The date of 14 patients who carried out the whole experimental course were statistically analyzed. The results of the study were : 1. In the comparison of gait velocity before and after experiment, the gait velocity was significantly increased in the experimental group and the control group(p<.05). In the comparison of difference of the gait velocity between groups, there was not, significant difference between the experimental group and the control group(p>.05). 2. In comparison of gait cadence before and after experiment, the gait cadence was significantly increased in both groups(p<.05). In the comparison of difference of the gait cadence between groups, there was not significant difference between the experimental group and the control group(p>.05). 3. In the comparison of step length before and after experiment, the step length was significantly increased in the experimental group and the control group(p<.05). In the comparison of difference of the step length between groups, there was not significant difference between the experimental group and the control group(p>.05). 4. In the comparison of single support time asymmetry before and after experiment, the single support time asymmetry was no significant difference between groups(p>.05). In the comparison of difference of the single support time asymmetry between groups, there was not significant difference between the experimental group and the control group(p>.05). 5. In the comparison of step length asymmetry before and. after experiment, the step length asymmetry was not significant difference between the experimental group and the control group(p>.05). In the comparison of difference of the single step length asymmetry between groups, there was not significant difference between the experimental group and the control group(p>.05).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.135-144
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• 2008

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of body weight support treadmill training (BWSTT) and parallel bar gait training(P-bar) on gait and balance ability of subacute stroke patients. The subjects were consisted of 27 patients with subacute stroke, and they were randomly devided into two groups which were BWSTT group and P-bar group. Method : The timed up and go(TUG), 10m gait speed were used to measure gait speed, Bergs balance scale(BBS) was used to measure dynamic balance ability, and balance performance monitor(BPM) was used to measure sway area, sway path, max velocity. Result : 1. The TUG and 10m gait speed of BWSTT group and P-bar group were significantly decreased (p<.05). The TUG and 10m gait speed were different significantly between BWSTT group and P-bar group(p<.05). 2. The BBS and sway area of BWSTT group and P-bar group were significantly decreased (p<.05). The BBS and sway area were not different significantly between BWSTT group and P-bar group(p>.05). 3. The sway path and max velocity of BWSTT group and P-bar group were significantly decreased (p<.05). The sway path and max velocity were not different significantly between BWSTI group and P-bar group(p>.05). Conclusion : The outcomes suggest that patient with subacute stroke can improve their gait and balance through body weight support treadmill training.