Influence of two weeks balance practice with feedback on the gait in hemiplegic patients

Abstract

We hypothesized that practicing balance with feedback will improve the gait in hemiplegic patients. The practice consisted of two weeks 30-minute long Wii-Fit balance board gaming. The gait analysis was based on ground reaction pressures (GRP) recorded with the custom designed insoles. The data were collected at 100 samples per second from two insoles, each comprising five pressure (force) sensors. The sensors communicated with the host computer by a WiFi link. Custom software was developed in Matlab for automatic segmentation of the GRP data into segments belonging to swing and stance phases of each step. The examiner could correct the automatic segmentation if necessary. The outputs from the program were: pressure vs. time from all sensors and standard gait data (cadence, symmetry index, etc.). The results show that the exercise of the function with feedback has positive effects on the gait performance. The exercise period was only two weeks, and the group was small and heterogeneous; hence, a more extensive study is required for proving the significance.