Effects of gait training using the Hybrid Assistive Limb® in recovery-phase stroke patients: A 2-month follow-up, randomized, controlled study

BACKGROUND: Gait training using the Hybrid Assistive Limb® (HAL®) may have beneficial effects on post-stroke gait function and independent walking. However, the long-term and medium-term efficacies of gait training using HAL® in stroke patients remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: To compare the medium-term efficacy of gait training using a single-leg version of the Hybrid Assistive Limb® (HAL®) on the paretic side with conventional gait training (CGT) in recovery-phase stroke patients. METHODS: Twenty-four post-stroke participants (HAL® group: n = 12, CGT group: n = 12) completed the trial. Over 4 weeks, all participants received twelve 20-min sessions of either HAL® (using the single-leg version of HAL® on the paretic side) or conventional (performed by skilled and experienced physical therapists) gait training. Outcome measures were evaluated prior to training, after 12 sessions, and at 8 and 12 weeks after intervention initiation. Functional Ambulation Category (FAC) was the primary outcome measure. RESULTS: The HAL® group showed significant improvement in FAC after 12 sessions, and at 8 and 12 weeks compared to the conventional group (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that a gait training program based on HAL® may improve independent walking more efficiently than CGT at 1 and 2 months after intervention

Improvement of gait ability with a short-term intensive gait rehabilitation program using body weight support treadmill training in community dwelling chronic poststroke survivors

[Purpose] Most previous studies have shown that body weight support treadmill training (BWSTT) can improve gait speed poststroke patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate effectiveness of a short-term intensive program using BWSTT among community dwelling poststroke survivors. [Subjects] Eighteen subjects participated in this study. The treatment group was composed of 10 subjects (2 women; 8 men; mean age, 59.1 ± 12.5 years; time since stroke onset, 35.3 ± 33.2 months), whereas the control group was made up of 8 subjects (3 women; 5 men; mean age, 59.8 ± 6.3 years; time since stroke onset, 39.3 ± 27.3 months). [Methods] The treatment group received BWSTT 3 times a week for 4 weeks (a total of 12 times), with each session lasting 20 minutes. The main outcome measures were maximum gait speed on a flat floor, cadence, and step length. [Results] No differences were observed in the baseline clinical data between the 2 groups. The gait speed in the treatment group was significantly improved compared with that in the control by 2-way ANOVA, while the other parameters showed no significant interaction. [Conclusion] These results suggested that short-term intensive gait rehabilitation using BWSTT was useful for improving gait ability among community dwelling poststroke subjects

Factors associated with overweight status, obesity, and sedentary behavior in elementary and junior high school students

Background: Sedentary behavior increases the risks of obesity and cardiovascular disease in adults, but these relationships are uncertain in elementary and junior high school students. We investigated whether sedentary behavior is related to overweight status and obesity in high-risk children with lifestyle diseases. Method: A cross-sectional study was performed in 115 children and primary caregivers who attended a lecture for preventing child lifestyle diseases in Ibaraki prefecture, Japan. The main outcome measure was excess weight (percent overweight). Factors associated with excess weight in children were evaluated using multiple regression analysis. Basic physical and demographic characteristics, biochemical data (total cholesterol [TC], low and high density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C and HDL-C], alanine aminotransferase [ALT]), blood pressure, child and parental sedentary time, parental BMI, and family environment were evaluated. Results: In total, 107 children were eligible for participation in the study. Excess weight in these children was 28.6 ± 18.4. Sedentary time was 337.2 ± 122.5 min/day in children and 347.0 ± 196.2 min/day in parents. Multiple regression analysis revealed that children\u27s sedentary behavior (β = 0.02, (95%CI: 0.00 to 0.04) ) and HDL-C (β = −0.59, (95%CI: −0.81 to −0.38) ) as independent predictors of children\u27s excess weight. Conclusion: Study findings suggest that decreasing children\u27s sedentary behavior in addition to greater physical activity is important for the prevention of overweight status and obesity in high-risk children with lifestyle diseases. Reduction of sedentary time, and engaging in regular exercise are all important for proper weight maintenance in children