Getting up to Speed: Understanding the Factors Associated with Post-stroke Gait Velocity

The factors that influence gait velocity post-stroke are not clearly understood. This thesis sought to uncover the factors associated with gait velocity, particularly those related to maximum velocity. The first of two studies investigated the associations between physical factors and preferred and maximum gait velocity. Analysis revealed that individuals with stroke were able to increase gait velocity from preferred and that this increase, along with the achieved velocity, were related to functional balance. The second study characterized the strategy individuals used to increase gait velocity, and compared between the stroke and healthy population. It also probed the relationships between cadence, step length, strategy, and post-stroke impairment. This study demonstrated that individuals with stroke rely more on cadence than step length to increase gait velocity. These results revealed the role of balance control on limiting gait velocity and the need for specific measures of impairment in research to direct clinical practice.MAS