Techniques avancées en biologie et médecine
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The Effect of Body-Weight Supported Treadmill Therapy Program on the Gait Asymmetry in Patients after Lower Limb Arthroplasty

Miloslav Kubícek, Tomas Brozek

Background: Limitation of the lower limb mobility leads, as a result of the conscious or unconscious compensation to avoid pain, to a disturbance of the gait pattern. A noticeable deviation of gait cycle parameters is manifested by significant asymmetry between the injured and non-injured limbs. Inadequate or insufficient rehabilitation can lead to the persistence of asymmetry causing other musculoskeletal problems. It is assumed that the body-weight supported treadmill rehabilitation program is capable of effective gait symmetry restoration in patients recovering after lower limb surgery.

Methods: Thirty patients recovering after lower limb arthroplasty underwent a treatment program consisting of 6 sessions of body-weight supported treadmill exercise. Gait cycle parameters including stance time, step time, step length, swing time, and weight-bearing proportion of each limb were recorded during each exercise session. The evolution of gait asymmetry was evaluated in terms of the symmetry index.

Results: The present study demonstrated that body-weight supported treadmill therapy significantly reduces gait asymmetry. The symmetry index of stance time, step length, step time, swing time, swing time/stance time ratio, and weight bearing was improved by 42%, 33%, 48%, 37%, 49%, and 33%, respectively. The Wilcoxon test proved a significant difference across all parameters except the step length.

Conclusion: Body-weight supported treadmill has a positive effect on gait asymmetry in patients recovering from lower limbs arthroplasty. Despite their limitations, patients are able to incorporate walking in the early rehabilitation phase and eliminate the emergence of associated health problems arising as a result of mechanical compensation.