Ren Fujii, PT, MS, Makoto Tamari, PT, PhD, Yuki Nonaka, PT, MS, Fumiaki Tamiya, PT, Hiroshi Hosokawa, MD, Shinichiro Tanaka, MD
Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 13: 49-55, 2022
Objective: We analyzed the effect of gait training
using a walking-assist robot that assists a subject's
knee joint movement and leg swing to achieve toe
clearance of the paralyzed-side lower limb during
treadmill walking.
Methods: The subjects were 10 hemiplegic stroke
patients in a rehabilitation ward. The intervention
consisted of gait training using the Welwalk WW-1000
(Welwalk) robot for 40 min. Immediately before and
after this intervention, a gait analysis of the patients'
treadmill walking was performed by a three-dimensional
motion capture system. Statistical analyses compared
the foot-to-floor distance and the shortening of hip-toe
length (SHTL) of the paralyzed side before and after
the intervention, and examined the relationship between
the change of lower-limb joint kinematics and toe
clearance before and after the intervention.
Results: The post-intervention SHTL was significantly
lower compared to before the intervention, and there
was a significant negative correlation between the
change in the SHTL and the knee flexion angle from
before to after the intervention.
Conclusion: Gait exercise using the Welwalk could
contribute to the acquisition of more normal leg-swing
strategies.
Key words: gait exercise assist robot Welwalk, hemiplegic stroke patients, toe clearance, shortening of hip-toe length, gait exercise