Demographic data of the subjects
The demographic data of the 35 participants who completed the study are shown in Table 1. The group A (Treadmill) consisted of 17 participants (10 males, 7 females), 64.7% were right hemi-paretic. The group B (Bicycle ergometer) consisted of 18 participants, (8 males, 10 females), 55.6% were right hemi-paretic. Mean age and weight of the participants were 53.77±10.95 years and 70.86±10.67 kg respectively.
Changes in gait parameters with treatment
Tables 2 and 3 show the pre-treatment and post-treatment gait parameters and community integration for the subjects with 10 weeks of intervention. The pre-treatment score revealed a significant difference in stride length, gait speed and no significant difference in step length, cadence and community integration between the groups. The mean differences between the groups and post-treatment scores were significant in cadence between the groups.
Tables 4 and 5 show that there was a significance difference in the gait parameters and community integration within the groups except in stride length in the bicycle ergometer group (P < 0.05).
Table 1: Sociodemographic profile of participants
Variables Threadmill Bicycle ergometer
N (%) N (%)
___________________________________________________________________________
Gender Male 10 (58.8) 8 (44.4)
Female 7 (41.2) 10 (55.6)
Educational attainment Primary 3 (8.6) 2 (5.5)
Secondary 6 (17.1) 3 (8.6)
Tertiary 10 (28.6) 11 (31.4)
Part affected right 11 (64.7) 10 (55.6) left 6 (35.3) 8 (44.4)
Key:
N: Frequency
%: Percentage
Table 2: Pre-treatment gait parameters between groups of participants
Variables Treadmill Bicycle Ergometer
Mean ± SD Mean ± SD t-value p-value
|
Stride length 77.41 ± 25.52 59.00 ± 24.20 2.187 0.04*
Step length 36.05 ± 12.04 28.94 ± 14.09 1.608 0.12
Natural Gait Speed 0.60 ± 0.17 0.42 ± 0.27 2.426 0.02*
Maximum Gait Speed 0.87 ± 0.27 0.59 ± 0.38 2.468 0.02*
Cadence 1.42 ± 0.34 1.25 ± 0.62 1.031 0.31
CIS 12.35 ± 3.9 9.50 ± 4.00 2.125 0.41
|
Key:
CIS: Community Integration Score
Table 3: Post-treatment gait parameters of participants
Variables Treadmill Bicycle ergometer t-value p-value
Mean ± SD Mean ± SD
|
Stride length 6.00± 5.93 2.83 ± 6.41 1.519 0.13
Step length 4.11 ± 2.93 2.33 ± 2.43 1.955 0.06
Natural gait speed 0.19 ± 0.09 0.11 ± 0.16 1.731 0.10
Maximum gait speed 0.18± 0.24 0.09 ± 0.14 1.413 0.17
Cadence 0.20 ± 0.18 0.83 ± 0.15 2.088 0.04*
CIS 4.00 ± 2.98 3.89 ± 2.40 0.121 0.90
|
Key:
CIS: Community Integration Score
Table 4: Pre-treatment and post-treatment gait parameters in the treadmill group
___________________________________________________________________________
Parameters Mean ± SD Mean ± SD t-value p-value
Pre-intervention Post-intervention
___________________________________________________________________________
Stride Length (cm) 77.41 ± 25.52 83.41 ± 21.49 -4.174 0.001*
Step Length (cm) 36.05 ± 12.04 40.18 ± 11.35 -5.786 0.00*
NGS (m/s) 0.60 ± 0.17 0.79 ± 0.17 -9.030 0.00*
MGS (m/s) 0.87 ± 0.27 1.05 ± 0.22 -3.110 0.007*
Cadence (step/min) 1.42 ± 0.34 1.62 ± 0.32 -4.632 0.00*
CIS 12.35 ± 3.94 16.35 ± 3.24 -5.536 0.00*
___________________________________________________________________________
Key:
CIS: Community Integration Score
NGS: Natural gait speed
MGS: Maximum gait speed
Table 5: Pre-treatment and post-treatment gait parameters in the bicycle ergometry group
___________________________________________________________________________
Parameters Mean ± SD Mean ± SD t-value p-value
Pre-intervention Post-intervention
___________________________________________________________________________
Stride Length (cm) 59.00 ± 24.20 61.83 ± 22.71 -1.875 0.078
Step Length (cm) 28.94 ± 14.09 31.28 ± 13.83 -4.082 0.001*
NGS (m/s) 0.42 ± 0.27 0.53 ± 0.27 -2.942 0.009*
MGS (m/s) 0.59 ± 0.38 0.68 ± 0.43 -2.631 0.018*
Cadence (step/min) 1.25 ± 0.62 1.33 ± 0.63 -2.410 0.028*
CIS 9.50 ± 4.00 13.39 ± 3.43 -6.880 0.00*
___________________________________________________________________________
Key:
CIS: Community Integration Score
NGS: Natural gait speed
MGS: Maximum gait speed