Alterations in Weight-Transfer Capabilities in Adults With Hemiparesis

Backgmund and Purpose. The purposes of this study were (1) to examine the position and displacement in thefiontal plane of the body's center of mass (CM) with respect to the base of support during single-leg flexion movements in adults with hemiplegia and (2) to examine their relationship with other clinical scores. Subjects. Fourteen ambulatoly adult volunteers with herniparesis of the right side of the body due to cerebrovascular accident participated in the study. Metbods. Subjects pe~ormed single-leg flexion movements with the paretic and nonparetic limbs while standing o n two separate force platforms. Motion analysis and force platform data were used to determine the displacement of the CM. Results. Suc-cessful performance of the transfer and holding single-limb stance occurred for 485 % (to the nonparetic side) and 20 % (to the paretic side) of the trials. Lack of success was due to insuficient displacement of the CM (26 % of the trials to the nonparetic side and 17 % of the trials to the paretic side) or a failure to maintain single-limb stance (26 % of all trials to the nonparetic side and 63 % of the trials to the paretic side). Overall, the final position of the CM with respect to the single