Direct measurement of plantarflexion resistive moments and angular positions of an articulated ankle–foot orthosis while walking in individuals post stroke: A preliminary study:

摘要

The plantarflexion resistive moments of an articulated ankle–foot orthosis play an important role in improving gait in individuals post stroke. However, the evidence regarding their magnitude required from the articulated ankle–foot orthosis to improve walking is still limited. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to directly measure the plantarflexion resistive moments and the joint angular positions while walking using a prototype instrumented articulated ankle–foot orthosis in five individuals post stroke. The secondary aim was to investigate their moment–angle relationship by changing its preset plantarflexion stiffness. Each subject was fitted with the instrumented articulated ankle–foot orthosis and walked on a treadmill under four different preset plantarflexion stiffness conditions (0.35?N·m/°, 0.51?N·m/°, 0.87?N·m/°, and 1.27?N·m/°). For each subject, the plantarflexion resistive moments and the joint angular positions of five continuous gait cycles were extracted and averaged for each co...