In Brief:
The goal of this study is to determine the clinical relevance of ankle-foot orthosis use on walking ability and other gait parameters in the post-stroke population. The effect of AFO use on walking ability is statistically significant, but when compared to the predefined values for clinical relevance, only walking speed, step and stride lengths are clinically relevant. The study concludes that, for stroke patients using an AFO for activities of daily living, the AFO is beneficial for their walking ability and for their subjective exertion and self-confidence. When relating performance scores to clinically relevant changes, only small differences in increasing functional scores are seen.
Go to Full Text of this Article
