Impact of the helical orthosis on functional gait distance and mobility
AFO, stroke, ’
STROKE
6MWT distance was significantly greater with the hAFO than the plsAFO, with a moderate effect size. Furthermore, almost all participants could be considered as ‘responders’ to the hAFO, which was not the case for the plsAFO, and the median change from noAFO with the hAFO largely surpassed the MCID, whereas change with the plsAFO did not reach the MCID.Comparison with the literature found smaller improvements in 6MWT distance with different types of AFO, although few studies included samples similar to our sample. In people with stroke, the use of a posterior AFO improved 6MWT distance by approximately 30 m compared with no AFO [TUG test performance time was significantly shorter (i.e., better) with the hAFO than the plsAFO. The TUG test measures several aspects of gait including sit-stand capacity, speed and balance. The better TUG performance with the hAFO likely results from a combination of a higher gait speed because of the reduction in foot drop, and better stability, as indicated by the increased eversion moment for some participants, which may have facilitated balance and increased turning speed. Studies in subacute or chronic stroke found greater improvements in TUG performance time than we did in the present study (up to a mean 6 s difference between various types of AFO and noAFO conditions) [