Effect of Ankle Foot Orthosis on Cardiorespiratory Parameters, Speed, Energy Cost and Quality of Gait in Foot Drop Patients

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of Ankle Foot Orthosis (AFO) on cardiorespiratory parameters, speed, energy cost and quality of walking in foot drop patients.
Method: Sixteen patients with foot drop participated in this study. A repeated measures (counter balance cross over order) design was used. Foot drop patients involved in the 12 Minutes Walk Test (12MWT) with AFO and free walk (walk without AFO) on different test days. Pre and post test cardiovascular parameters (heart rate [HR], Systolic Blood Pressure [SBP], Diastolic Blood Pressure [DBP], volume of O consumed [VO ]), energy cost and
speed of walking were assessed using standardized protocols and formulae. A self structured questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of r = 0.82 was used to assess the quality of gait.
Result: Free walk indicated a statistically significant increase (P<0.05) in HR, SBP, energy cost, speed and quality of walking over AFO, while DBP was not statistically significant.
Conclusion: It was concluded that the use of AFO has a significant positive effect on the cardiovascular parameters (HR, SBP and VO ) and energy of walking in patients with foot drop.


Keywords: Foot drop; Cardiorespiratory; Orthosis.

Nigeria Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma Vol. 7 (2) 2008: pp. 51-53