Study protocol
AFOs, hemiplegic, AFO
First, shod gait without AFO was measured at each participant’s self-selected walking speed in an 8-m walkway. Each participant was required to land their hemiplegic lateral foot exactly intact on one of the force platforms during one test and repeat three times. We divided the gait cycle according to the ground reaction force and analyzed this gait cycle.Next, the participants were randomly allocated to an AFO-OD group or a RAFO group in order of participation. Then, the participants started gait training sessions that were performed for 1 h daily over 2 weeks under the supervision of physiotherapists. The training sessions were the same for both groups and included the simulated practical walk and general exercises, such as range of motion exercises, balance training, muscle training, and step training. At last, after 2 weeks, gait was measured with and without allocated AFOs separately using the same method.