Gait characterizations under dynamic load during walking in hemiplegic patients

Cerebrovascular disease or stroke is a common problem found in hemiplegic patients. The balance disorder causes a gait pattern of hemiplegic patients in different to normal persons. The Pedar^® system, an in-shoe measurement, was used to measure plantar pressure. Two groups of subject were involved in this study; normal person and stroke patient groups. Our preliminary results revealed that the differences, during walking, in plantar pressure were 5.00 ± 4.72% and 3.85 ± 2.16% in males and females in the normal person group, respectively. These differences were 29.57± 15.39% and 24.66± 3.59% in the hemiplegic patient group and it was significantly higher compared with the normal person group. The single limb support on the hemiplegic side for gait cycle was shorter than the other limb. The gait lines during walking in the normal person group were longer than that in the hemiplegic patient group. The hemiplegic patients showed an abnormal pattern in force time relationship between hemiplegic and normal limbs. The gait parameters reported in this study were able to use as qualitative and quantitative characteristics during walking in hemiplegic patients.