Assessment of muscle blood flow volume in elderly poststroke hemiplegic patients using near-infrared spectroscopy

This study assessed the changes in blood flow volume in elderly hemiplegic patients before and after rehabilitation training. Total hemoglobin accumulation (blood flow volume) was measured using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in both the affected and unaffected gastrocnemius muscles before and after walking. In the gastrocnemius on the affected side, the blood flow volume was larger during the recovery period than during the rest period, and the blood flow volume did not decrease during the recovery period after the subjects walked a corridor. By contrast, the blood flow volume recovered faster on the unaffected side than on the affected side. After the subjects walked the stairs, the blood flow volume increased in the gastrocnemius muscles on both sides. These results suggested that the level of training involved in walking a corridor was too light for the unaffected side, although it was effective for the affected side. In our subjects, walking the stairs was effective rehabilitation training for both the unaffected and affected sides. Our results suggested that NIRS was an objective tool useful for planning rehabilitation training.