Ankle-foot orthoses improve walking but do not reduce dual-task costs after stroke.

Background: Cognitive-motor interference, as measured by dual-task walking (performing a mental task while walking), affects many clinical populations. Ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) are lower-leg splints prescribed to provide stability to the foot and ankle, as well as prevent foot drop, a gait deficit common after stroke. AFO use has been shown to improve gait parameters such as speed and step time, which are often negatively impacted by dual-task walking.

Experience of People With Disabilities in Haiti Before and After the 2010 Earthquake: WHODAS 2.0 Documentation.

Objective: To describe the functioning and participation of people with disabilities seen in Haiti Team Canada Healing Hands clinics before and after the 2010 earthquake.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Rehabilitation clinics.

Gait variability and regularity of people with transtibial amputations.

Gait temporal-spatial variability and step regularity as measured by trunk accelerometry, measures relevant to fall risk and mobility, have not been well studied in individuals with lower-limb amputations. The study objective was to explore the differences in gait variability and regularity between individuals with unilateral transtibial amputations due to vascular (VAS) or nonvascular (NVAS) reasons and fall history over the past year. Of the 34 individuals with trans-tibial amputations who participated, 72% of the 18 individuals with VAS and 50% of the 16 individuals with NVAS had experienced at least one fall in the past year.

Ambulation of people with lower-limb amputations: relationship between capacity and performance measures.

Objectives: To examine the relationship between measures of ambulation capacity obtained in a clinical setting and measures of ambulation performance in the community, and to explore what demographic and clinical variables influence ambulation performance in people with lower-limb amputations.

Design: A cross-sectional, correlational and descriptive study.

Setting: Rehabilitation center and participants' homes and community environments.

Effect of a shock-absorbing pylon on transmission of heel strike forces during the gait of people with unilateral trans-tibial amputations: a pilot study.

The primary objective was to test the hypothesis that walking with a shock-absorbing pylon (SAP) decreases the peak magnitude and frequency content of the heel-strike-initiated shock wave transmitted to the stump. The secondary hypotheses were that walking with a SAP decreases the heel-strike transient force between the ground and the foot and increases function as measured by walking velocity and subjective assessments. Seven people with unilateral trans-tibial amputations walked at self-selected speeds without and with a SAP.